The Promise Paradox
by Ruinous79
Summary: The destiny of a once dead planet is inextricably linked to Gallifrey's dark history, a troubled human named Sebastian and the current political unrest at the Time Lord Academy. When the paradox threatens time, the Eighth Doctor is summoned by President Romana to assist. Can the enigmatic Professor River Song help him unravel this mystery of love, betrayal, and the price of power?
1. Chapter 1

_Long ago in a faraway land, a king and his fair queen were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. They named their daughter Promise, for she filled their lives with the certainty of a happily ever after._

_Though their kingdom was secluded and far from the reach of any that might do them harm, the king soon began to fear for the safety of his little family. He became paranoid about protecting them and in the end grew quite mad. He began to formulate an unspeakable plan to shelter his wife and child from the dangers of the past._

_The king had every reason to fear, for Promise wasn't just any ordinary princess. Promise was the last in a bloodline of mystical beings who once ruled over a kingdom called Gallifrey. She was, in fact, an enchantress whose powers wouldn't come to her fully until her 25th birthday. Her very existence was a secret that must be kept from all who might wish her harm._

_Far away in another land, there was a coven of witches. They had been exiled from Gallifrey long ago and were all that remained of Promise's grandmother's followers. Over the centuries, the dark history of the coven's origins were lost to time. The very knowledge was forbidden. To even speak of the ancient times on Gallifrey was punishable by death. The witches now practiced their magick arts in a female ruled dominion called Karn._

_It was in that land of red stone and soil that Promise's birth was foretold by a witch called Calanthia. Calanthia became obsessed with finding Promise and bringing the child back to the kingdom of her bloodline._

_Calanthia kept the prophecy a secret from all but one fellow conspirator who shared her desire to see Promise take her rightful place as ruler of Gallifrey. Her secret remained safe, until one day she was brought before the head of her coven, the most esteemed of all the witches, Endolyn._

_Endolyn had already learned of Calanthia's interest in the forbidden past. But when she found out about the child, she flew into a violent rage and attempted to kill Calanthia in order to keep the secret. For Endolyn was a shrewd and selfish witch and had no interest in having her significance usurped by the revenant._

_Badly injured, Calanthia fled the dominion of the witches and made it, barely alive to the doorstep of her fellow conspirator._

_With Calanthia's secret still a threat, Endolyn vowed to destroy Promise before she reached her 25th birthday._

_And for her part, Calanthia vowed that when she was strong again, she would find Promise and protect her until she came into her powers._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Eighth Doctor's TARDIS, Constellation of Kasterberous**_

He was talking to himself, muttering really, as he eased his ship into the orbit of Gallifrey.

"Yes yes Romana. Just like always, you call for my help and just like always I come running like all the rest of your subjects." The Doctor frowned but it didn't quite reach his azure eyes.

He made an adjustment to the navigational system. "Yes Madame President. Your wish is my command Madame President." He was really on a roll now, playing the plagued martyr as only he could. The Tardis hummed its annoyance at his petulance.

He looked around the dramatically lit control room and a slow smile finally appeared. "I take it you don't approve Old Girl?" The lights brightened, then dimmed in response.

He blew out a sigh, scratched the side of his face and gestured as if in agreement. "Alright. Point taken." He started the dematerialization sequence, his destination set for the private chambers of the President of Gallifrey. Romanadvoratrelundar. He grinned again. It would be good to see her.

He wasn't actually angry at his old friend, after all. He was mostly pouting really. Something about being summoned by the High Council always brought out his defiant side.

He had scarcely rematerialized when the door was wrenched open from the outside. He spun around, brow furrowed in indignation at the intrusion.

Romana strode in wearing a peach colored suit with a long tan coat and such a concerned expression, his intended witty rebuke died on his tongue.

"Romana, what is it?" He met her halfway between the console and the door and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. He had never seen her in such a state before.

She drew a shaky breath. "Doctor. What have you done?" She looked unnaturally pale, with dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.

He blinked in confusion. "Here. Let's sit down, shall we?" he helped her into a nearby Victorian style chair, then sat down across from her.

Romana shook her head and gave a small humorless laugh. "Anytime something goes wrong in the cosmos, somehow you end up smack dab in the middle of it. It's a wonder I'm even surprised anymore."

He made a sound of exasperation. "Since I genuinely have no idea what you are on about, or what I'm meant to have done, a tiny clue would be most helpful."

She scoffed again, then finally met his eyes. "The Trappist Star System."

He narrowed his eyes. "I've never even been there." Even as he was saying it, an uneasy tugging sensation played at the back of his mind. He shook his head to clear it.

Romana pursed her lips. "Well the Matrix would beg to differ."

"The… the _Matrix_?" He stammered indignantly. "You're looking in on my travels in the Matrix!? Romana what is all this about?" He'd gotten to his feet, feeling very unsettled.

Her expression was puzzled. "You really don't know, do you?"

Never before had he felt the urge to shake information out of someone, but there was a first time for everything. "For the love of Rasillon! Would you just tell me why you've called me here!?"

She sighed and threw her hands up in surrender. "The Web of Time has become destabilized. History is changing."

He raised his eyebrows. "Changing how? And what's it got to do with me?"

"Specifically, history is changing surrounding the development of civilization among a set of planets in the constellation of Aquarius."

His voice was a whisper. "In the Trappist Star system." The words felt strange in his mouth. Forbidden. His head swam a bit. _Had he been there before?_

"What about the development of civilization?" He wondered. "Has it been halted somehow?"

She shook her head almost violently. "That's just it. Quite the opposite. That group of planets has been empty for millennia. Most of them are uninhabitable anyway. But the two in the habitable zone are suddenly teeming with life." She leaned forward as if about to break some bad bit of news. "Doctor… for now it's just a potential timeline, but it's shifting."

"You're saying this is a paradox. That someone's tampered in time and disrupted the natural flow."

Romana's eyebrows raised. "Sound like anyone we know?"

The Doctor's eyes grew hard. "Now wait just a moment. I haven't done anything of the sort since Charley and you know it." The invocation of his old friend's name was a vague stabbing sensation to the hearts.

"Your involvement in this situation is a certainty." She was telling the truth. The tone of her voice and the serious look on her face left little doubt.

He sat back down slowly. "Tell me exactly what you learned in the Matrix?"

She shifted in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. "I- I can't tell you everything. You know that. Filling you in on future events would only make the paradox more complex."

"Romana, I'm not asking you about future events. I'm wondering about the past. _My_ past." He chewed at his lip. "You say I've been to the Trappist Star System._ Definitely_ been there. Is that right?"

"A certainty." she repeated.

He gestured vaguely. "Only I _haven't_. At least not that I can recall." Haunted whispers filled his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to hear, trying to understand. Romana continued.

"It was during your fifth incarnation. Your TARDIS was there on two of those planets in two different time zones. The first time was in the year 2080, the second in 3019."

His fifth incarnation. The Trappist Star. The years 2080 and 3019. There was something familiar. Something partly painful, partly pleasant. Like the nostalgia from a sad old song. But the memories just weren't there.

He opened his eyes. "It's as if my memory's been tampered with. There's something… something just at the edge of my consciousness. Something... familiar."

Romana was exasperated. "Well if you can't even remember what happened while you were there, what good are you then?"

He grinned disarmingly. "I'm frustrating, but I'm fun."

She couldn't help but crack a small smile at that. "Yes. Well. I suppose we should have something to eat."

* * *

_**The Capital, Gallifrey, The President's Inner Chambers**_

Once they'd finished with brunch, the Doctor didn't wish to waste time hanging around the capital and he didn't need any further convincing.

"I guess next stop, the Trappist Star System." he declared, standing.

Romana was squinting up at him. "Doctor. You really don't remember being there, do you?"

He tried not to look as troubled as he felt. He shrugged. "I'll just have to go poking around in the TARDIS memory banks. At the very least she should be able to give me some hint as to what took place all those years ago."

Romana offered to walk him back to the TARDIS which was back in her office.

They were both silent, lost in their own thoughts as they walked. When they reached the door to Romana's office, she turned and regarded him seriously, her lips pressed together and a hint of warning in her eyes.

"The information I've shared with you is highly confidential. I don't think I need to tell you that the utmost discretion is required."

His curiosity was once more piqued. "Who else knows about this?" he wondered, leaning against an ornamental column.

"Only the Inner Council- myself, the Chancellor and the Castellan- and now you."

The Doctor studied her, a smirk on his face. "Playing your cards close to your chest Madame President?"

Romana sighed. "There aren't many in the Capital in whom I can place my trust. There have been conspiracy theories floated about a traitor in our midst. A traitor who has taken sides with an opposing faction."

He nodded. "I can only imagine your recent executive decision to open diplomatic relations with Karn hasn't won you any popularity contests with the more radical groups."

Her expression grew grave. "There've been rumors of a possible uprising stirring for some time. I'd just as soon not add more fuel to the fire with news of this… this irregularity."

The Doctor scratched the side of his face, growing restless with the direction of the conversation. "Yes well. You can't please them all."

She went on as if he hadn't spoken. "And all the while I have Cardinal Wrayvius in my ear needling me about approval ratings and optics."

The Doctor blew out a breath and shifted his weight from one foot to another. "As much as I _do_ enjoy chatting about Homeworld politics…"

A real smile came to Romana's face at last. "How very tedious of me." Her intelligent eyes still looked tired but there was humor sparkling there now.

He draped an arm around her shoulders and guided her to the door. "Yes, well. We can't all be interesting conversationalists. At least that's what my dear friend Samuel Coleridge always says."

Romana rolled her eyes. "A tip Doctor: if you're going to name drop significant figures from Earth's history, be certain there's a human nearby to be impressed."

He grinned. "Duly noted."

* * *

_**Eighth Doctor's Tardis, An Hour Later**_

The Doctor turned to the controls, contemplating his next move. He chewed at the tip of his thumb, gazing into the glass enclosed cylinder that was the time rotor.

The obvious answer was to figure out exactly what transpired in 2080 and 3019 on the planets Giannes and Felix. What could he possibly have done to to disrupt the timeline in such a significant way?

The little bit of information Romana had provided wasn't much to go on. He started a search in the TARDIS memory banks, inputting the parameters and coaxing his ship to cooperate.

"Come on now Old Girl. If you could just point me in the right direction. I'll take any hint you might have."

He squinted at the display as an answer, of sorts, appeared on screen.

If he'd been hoping for a juicy revelation on what event had taken time off course, it appeared the TARDIS was unwilling to give up that bit of trivia.

Instead, he was only given space-time coordinates.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he took in the information. He had a feeling he knew what the numbers in front of him meant. What they certainly did not mean was a visit to the Trappist 1 System.

He entered the coordinates into the astral map system, then rocked back on his heels when he saw the results. He crossed his arms and gave a small laugh.

"I'll be damned." He clapped his hands together. "Well Old Girl. I guess we're paying a visit to Earth."

The TARDIS hummed in agreement and he pulled the dematerialization lever.

"Next stop: Starved Rock State Park, on the 28th of August 2019."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Things get a bit heavy later in this chapter. Trigger warning for talk of suicide. **

* * *

_**Holt's Deli- Alton, IL, 1 October 2019**_

Sebastian Holt was pretending to be busy wiping down the meat slicer to avoid dealing with the customer that had just entered the establishment. He could hear the other deli clerk, Maci make a sound of frustration obviously for his benefit before switching on her enthusiastic customer service voice.

"Hey there Sir. What can I get for you today?"

Sebastian shook his head and threw the cloth he'd been using as a convenient prop into a nearby bucket of sanitizing solution. He wiped his hands on the front of the loathsome purple apron he was wearing and leaned against the steel work table littered with meat shavings.

He watched Maci critically as she gathered the balding patron's order, wondering why in the hell his father had ever hired the trashy looking chick. She was covered in tattoos and piercings and her hair was that obnoxiously unnatural shade of red favored by Hot Topic enthusiasts across the land. The girl was "daddy issues" personified.

"So are you just gonna let Maci do all the work today or were you planning to pitch in at some point?"

He wheeled around guiltily to find his father standing behind him in the doorway to the kitchen looking decidedly unimpressed.

"There's just the one customer." Sebastian mumbled. "I figured Kat Von D over there had it under control."

Evan Holt sighed and jerked his thumb toward the back. "I wanna talk to you."

_Wonderful. Lecture time. _Sebastian rolled his eyes but followed his father to the back room. Like he had a choice.

They made their way over to the food prep area where Evan put on a pair of vinyl gloves and began loading whole chickens into the rotisserie oven. It was the sort of work that Sebastian despised yet Evan seemed to find deeply fulfilling. After a moment Evan looked up from his work. "You doin ok buddy?"

His father's gentle questioning was somehow worse than a lecture. It made him feel foolish and vulnerable.

"Life's grand." Sebastian replied harshly. "Now can I get back to the counter? God knows the cole slaw isn't gonna make itself."

Evan's eyes still held a kind of pity. "Baz, I know you're going through a rough patch. It just takes time. But you know if something's bothering you, you can always talk to me about it."

Sebastian felt something snap inside. He was sick to death of being talked to like some broken child. "Bothering me? Hmm. I'm a 26 year old with a Computer Science degree and almost 3 years experience working as a Network Engineer for the most successful tech consultant firm in the Midwest. Yet I'm _here _slicing goddamn lunchmeat." He scoffed. "What could possibly be bothering me?"

Evan's eye twitched and his jaw clenched. "You know your attitude really sucks." He shook his head and yanked off the food prep gloves he'd been wearing. "I'm tryin to help you out here. I give you a place to stay. I give you a job. And instead of getting it together you just want to drink every night and feel sorry for yourself." He tossed the gloves in the trash and laughed mirthlessly. "And now you're standing here shitting on my chosen profession and acting like you're doing me a favor by being here. Well screw you." He turned and stomped off into his office, slamming the door behind him.

Sebastian flinched. It took a lot to piss off his good-natured father but he certainly had a knack for it. He stared at the two remaining chickens on the prep table, abandoned and uncooked and considered the mess his life had become.

He had single handedly imploded his whole world- the most devastating casualties being his livelihood and professional reputation- and had come slinking back to his hometown begging daddy for help. What had he expected? A corner office? His father had been running the delicatessen for Sebastian's entire life. Naturally this was where he would end up. He just hadn't realized how hard it would be to swallow his pride.

"Hey Sebastian! I could use your help up here!" Maci's exasperated voice called from the front.

Sebastian sighed and adjusted the ugly apron. What was he going to do? Walk out?

"I'm coming." he called and made his way out of the kitchen.

But what he saw when he reached the counter almost knocked him on his ass.

_That guy._

Sebastian felt an odd mix of adrenaline and confusion assault him as he stood dumbly watching the man leave the deli. Time seemed to slow down as the long haired guy in the stupid clothes strode casually toward the exit.

And if there had been any thought that this might be a case of mistaken identity, that was quickly laid to rest when the man looked back over his shoulder and their eyes met. Sebastian would know that face anywhere. And there was something in the eyes.

Recognition. The man definitely recognized him too.

A voice echoed in his mind.

_It's only the beginning._

Time returned to normal all at once.

"Sebastian. Hey Sebastian!"

Maci's voice now sounded concerned. He looked up and saw the concern in her big brown eyes too. He had no idea how long he'd stood frozen like that or how long she'd been calling his name but considering the deli was once again cleared of customers, it must have been a while. He couldn't find any words. He just blinked.

"Hey man. You alright? You look like you just saw a ghost." She was squinting at him, studying him like she wondered if he might be having some kind of breakdown. And he very well might have been.

Sebastian finally spoke. "That guy. The one with the long curly hair… the one dressed up in some kind of costume. He didn't buy anything?"

Maci blinked. "You mean the hot one with the British accent? No, he was asking for directions. Why? Who is he?"

"Did he say anything about me at all? Was he looking for me?" Even as he said it, Sebastian knew he sounded a bit demented and paranoid.

"Nope. He just asked me where the nearest pharmacy was." Something in her expression changed. "Only…"

Sebastian felt his pulse speed up. "Only what?"

Her brow furrowed. "Just that when he first walked in, I got the impression he was checking the place out."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "What did he say to you exactly?"

Maci's heavily made-up eyes rolled skyward as if she was trying to access the memory. "Um, he just asked if this was College Avenue and if I knew of a nearby pharmacy." She shrugged. "I directed him to Walgreens. It's only like 2 blocks away."

"Walgreens." Sebastian said decisively and started to untie his apron.

"Wait a minute. You're just leaving?" Maci looked disgusted.

"I need to find that dude. I want to know what the hell he's doing here and what he's up to." He threw the apron on the steel table near the meat slicer.

Maci called after him as he headed toward the door. "What am I supposed to tell your dad?"

"Tell him I will very likely continue to disappoint him." he replied over his shoulder.

Sebastian hit the sidewalk at a jog. The guy was nowhere to be seen on College Avenue. Who knew how big of a head start he had since Sebastian had been practically comatose after seeing him.

Thoughts bounced around his head as he ran.

_Why the hell was he here? In Alton? Was he looking for Sebastian? If so, how had he found him? This couldn't be a coincidence._

By the time he made it to the Walgreens, he was out of breath and sweating. He must have looked slightly crazed as he walked in through the automatic doors. He ignored the nice woman behind the counter welcoming him to the store and began a search of every aisle.

But the guy wasn't in the shampoo aisle. He wasn't near the greeting cards. He wasn't shopping for candy or browsing the toy selection. He wasn't looking at analgesics or allergy pills. And he sure as shit wasn't at the pharmacy.

He sat heavily in one of the waiting chairs near the pharmacy counter and exhaled, strangely relieved. Yeah he wanted to know what was going on but he didn't really want to encounter the guy again.

It wasn't just that they'd met before. It was _where _they met. And _when _they met.

Back up North where he'd lived before everything fell apart. In the middle of fucking nowhere. A little over a month ago. On the worst night of Sebastian Holt's life.

He stared at the barely healed scar on the palm of his hand and remembered the night he'd tried so hard to forget.

* * *

**La Salle County, IL Five Weeks Earlier**

_Sebastian was drunk. Hell, he was well on his way to shitfaced. Drunk and driving in the rain as the day grew darker along with his mood._

_He took another swig from the bottle of stupidly expensive rum. Velier Caroni 2000. A gift. He'd googled it once and saw a bottle going for just under $300. Fucking ridiculous._

_Sebastian glanced at his rearview mirror to see if there were any cops out but the road behind him stretched out empty and bleak. Not that he particularly cared. He was beyond that now. He caught sight of his eyes in the mirror, the cool blue irises contrasted sharply with the bloodshot tinged whites. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried but today had more than made up for any lapses._

_He'd been driving for twenty minutes and didn't even realize where he was headed until he'd hit highway 178. Then it had become clear. _

_He took another pull of the spicy-sweet liquor. Even the burning sensation felt expensive. The bottle had sat on a shelf among other fancy bottles on the antique oak bookcase in his home office for over a year. A gift from Hannah's father._

_Hannah. The name hit him square in the chest like a fuckin city bus. He nearly doubled over from the pain it caused. Instead he gritted his teeth and made the next right into the park entrance. _

_The wooden plank of a sign sat atop a base made of bricks. Starved Rock State Park._

_Hannah Weaver. The love of his life. The perfect girl. He made a derisive noise. He remembered how lucky he'd felt, walking into work functions with the petite blonde on his arm. She was gorgeous and classy and came from old money._

_She'd made a fucking fool out of him._

_He wound his way through the park, trees surrounding him on all sides. He passed the road leading to the lodge, then another heading off to a boat ramp. He saw the campground ahead. The campground was as good a place as any to leave his car._

_The campground was empty except for a smattering of RVs. There were no tent campers braving this downpour and everything was too wet to get a decent fire started. The season was nearly over anyway. Autumn was almost upon them._

_He and Hannah hadn't camped when they'd come here last summer. They'd stayed in the lodge of course because nothing but the best for Hannah Fucking Weaver._

_Sebastian parked haphazardly in an unoccupied lot near the trailhead. He practically fell out of his car when he opened the door. Yep. Definitely shitfaced._

_He reached over and snagged a prescription pill bottle off the passenger seat, then grabbed the rum bottle and slammed the car door, leaving the keys in the ignition. Fuck it, he thought as he stumbled his way toward the trail, stuffing the pills into his pocket. It wasn't long before his jeans and polo shirt were soaked through. He stood dumbly in the rain, squinting at the trailhead map._

_And there it was. Tonty Canyon. "Bingo." he murmured and threw himself forward into the woods, the rum sloshing against the glass bottle._

_Sebastian had never been much of an outdoorsy guy. Hannah was an avid hiker and had dragged him along on several outings. He'd always gone reluctantly._

_He made his way as quickly as he could along the trail. The evening was progressing and he was determined to make it to the canyon before it was too dark to see. Though the overhang of trees offered some protection from the downpour, the trail was a mess of mud. His favorite pair of shoes- reddish brown Sperry loafers- were caked in it._

_He hated getting dirty, hated the woods with their potential poison ivy and who knew what kind of animals. Hannah, who had grown up in her family's Morningside Drive mansion in Peoria, insisted she felt at one with nature when hiking. She had almost peed herself laughing when he thought he saw a snake on their first hike together. It had been only their second date and he wanted so badly to impress her. Not exactly an auspicious start to the relationship._

_When the path started to climb a hill, Sebastian slipped several times in the mud trying to make it up the incline. He was almost to the top of the rise when his left foot hit a root and he went down hard, face first into the mud. The bottle of Velier Caroni 2000 shattered against a rock, his hand still wrapped around it._

_He climbed to his knees and held the shaky hand in front of his face. Even through the mud and blood, he could see the cut was deep. Probably even needed stitches. For some reason this made him laugh. He laughed hard, tears running down his face as he picked glass out of the wound._

_He stood once more, still chuckling as he continued up the incline, his arm at his side, the hand now pouring blood. Once he reached the top of the hill, the bridge to Tonty canyon came into view._

_The picturesque canyon was even more stunning than he remembered. The looming rock formations hauntingly beautiful in the spreading shadows. He had to watch his footing even more than before because the wet sandstone floor of the canyon was slick as oil. He stood in awe staring up at the waterfall. Even someone who wasn't into nature had to admit it was breathtaking._

_The rain was slowing now, the clouds pulling away from a nearly full moon. Moonlight crept down across the canyon in an eerie way._

_He looked down at the sandstone walk where he was standing and tears sprang to his eyes once more. It was this very spot. This was where he had proposed to Hannah last summer._

_He thought of what she'd looked like then, a year ago, blue eyes sparkling with excitement as she stared at the ring he'd placed on her finger. The thundering sound of the falls the soundtrack to the proudest moment of his life. _

_He thought of the coldness in her voice only hours ago, telling him the truth. Telling him that she was pregnant. That it couldn't be his because they hadn't slept together in months. That it was Noah's._

_Noah. She'd been fucking Noah. His coworker. His best friend._

_Sebastian reached into his pocket with his uninjured hand, his fingertips grazing the bottle of Ativan._

"_You're hurt."_

_The man's calm voice seemed to come from out of nowhere. Sebastian spun around startled, very nearly falling on the slippery sandstone._

"_What the fuck man?" Sebastian stuttered, grief stricken, drunk and confused as hell._

_The odd looking man was leaning casually against the mossy wall of the canyon._

"_Your hand," the man pointed. "You've hurt yourself." He began to remove the brown silk cravat from around his neck. "Why don't we clean it up and tie this round to stop the bleeding?" He moved as if to come toward Sebastian._

_Sebastian took a step back, not entirely sure he wasn't hallucinating. Had he already taken all the Ativan and forgotten? Maybe he was already dying and this cartoonishly dressed British dude was the result of misfiring neurons._

"_Just… just stay away from me, okay. My hand's fine." In truth it was throbbing and still bleeding heavily. But a laceration hardly mattered when you intended to kill yourself._

_The man held his hands up as if to show he was unarmed and leaned back against the wall. "I don't mean you any harm. I was just here enjoying the scenery. Happened to notice you were bleeding. That's all."_

_Sebastian blinked. "What in the fuck are you doing in this canyon at night in the rain?" He scoffed. "Who the hell in their right mind does that?"_

_The man chuckled as if enjoying some private joke. "Who indeed."_

"_Look man. Not that it's any of your business, but I came out here to be by myself. And you're kind of ruining that for me. Do you mind?"_

_The man didn't seem to hear him. He wasn't even looking at him. He was staring upwards. The rain had stopped completely now and the clouds had cleared away to reveal a star filled sky. "A glorious view. Don't you think?"_

_The guy was clearly off his rocker but he was also right. Sebastian couldn't remember ever seeing so many stars. "Yeah. It's pretty I guess." he mumbled, wishing the dude would leave him alone._

_The dude appeared incapable of reading social cues and continued conversationally. "You know, the word 'chaos' didn't always mean a state of utter confusion." The weird guy grinned at Sebastian. "The word's origins are ancient Greek. From the word Khaos-with a 'k'- meaning 'vast chasm'. The ancient Greeks believed that Khaos was the primeval void from which all of existence came." He gestured toward the dark sky._

_Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the guy. The fuck was he even talking about?_

_The man began to pace around and Sebastian realized that inexplicably, he wasn't wearing any shoes. "In Greek mythology, Khaos was the beginning of life. From Khaos came the Gods of Night and of Suffering and of Love."_

_At that Sebastian couldn't help but laugh. "Brother you said a mouthful."_

_The man stopped his pacing and studied him. "What do you mean?"_

_Sebastian sighed, not quite believing he was really engaging with this lunatic. "My life. My life is utter fucking chaos. And on this particular night, I'm the asshole suffering for love."_

_The man seemed to consider his words, then make up his mind about something. He walked purposefully toward Sebastian, tugging his cravat from his neck along the way._

_For some reason, Sebastian didn't step away this time. The British guy with dripping wet shoulder length curls was a few inches shorter but he had a larger than life presence about him. And when he was close enough, Sebastian could have sworn there was nothing insane behind his eyes. Only intelligence. And kindness._

"_Let's see that hand."_

_Sebastian scoffed. "What are you? Some kind of doctor?" But, for some reason he found himself offering his injured hand to the stranger._

"_Yes. I am some kind of doctor." the man replied absently, examining Sebastian's palm. The rain had washed away much of the mud and the wound was clearly visible. The glass had opened a diagonal three inch gash from the base of his index finger nearly to his wrist. The man wrapped the band of cloth around his hand twice then knotted it tightly. The pain it caused was strangely invigorating. Sebastian clenched his fist around it, feeling suddenly sober._

_The man hadn't moved away. "It will heal. In time." He gave Sebastian a look of significance. "I promise you that."_

_Sebastian met the stranger's gaze. "There will definitely be a scar." he pointed out._

_A curious half smile appeared on the man's face. "Scars are the lessons we carry with us. Reminders of how to better protect ourselves."_

_Sebastian stood in that moonlit canyon with a barefoot stranger and realized he wasn't done living._

_He nodded. "In time." he agreed quietly._

_The man smiled and turned to walk away._

"_All that stuff you said. About chaos?" Sebastian called after him. "What's that got to do with anything?"_

_The man turned, his head tilted to one side. "Just think about it: The word 'chaos' has such a negative connotation. It's catastrophe. It's pandemonium. It's the end of the world as we know it. But the origin story behind that word? Well Khaos was the very beginning of everything!"_

_Sebastian was still thinking of a reply to that when the stranger suddenly asked him. "What's your name, by the way."_

"_Uh. Sebastian." He answered before he could think of any good reason not to._

_The man's handsome face lit up with a smile again. "This isn't the end Sebastian. It's only the beginning!"_

_And then, he'd disappeared into the night._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chamber of The High Council, The Capital, Gallifrey**_

"And what exactly are we doing about these escalating incidents at the Academy?" Romana inquired, leaning forward in her high backed chair at the head of the High Council's gold accented assembly table. For this particular assembly, the other chairs were empty aside from the Chancellor's.

"I met with the Provost this morning." Chancellor Samaria reported, organizing her notes. "He indicated to me that much of the unrest is being instigated by members of the Scendeles Chapter."

Romana sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Only the pretentious Chancellor Samaria would categorize the recent upheaval at the Time Lord Academy as "unrest". In the past week, the protests had gone from a mere nuisance to actual violence.

"That's hardly a surprise. The Scendeles Chapter is rife with radicals." Romana gazed pointedly at the Chancellor. "But what do we intend to _do_ about it?"

The Chancellor sat up in her self important way and adjusted the front of her scarlet robe. "The Provost has issued The Chancellery Guard access to the Academy." She raised an eyebrow, clearly pleased with herself. "I already have shifts standing sentinel there to ensure matters don't get out of hand."

Romana gave a small laugh of disbelief. "So your solution is to send in uniformed soldiers armed with stasers?" She got to her feet, eyes narrowed. "Do you honestly think that _militarizing_ the Academy is going to restore peace and order? If anything, a police presence will only serve to radicalize _more_ members of the Academy."

The self assured Chancellor Samaria was rarely flustered but just then all the color drained from her face. "Are… are you saying I should summon back the Guard?"

Romana made a sound of frustration and pointed to the door. "Yes, go! Summon them back _immediately_."

The Chancellor stood quickly and collected her things. "Yes Madame President." She bowed her head and made her way toward the exit.

At the door she turned. "Madame President. About that… _irregularity_ we discussed with the Castellan."

Romana knew she was referring to the paradox. Now it was her turn to feel flustered. "What about it?" she asked, sharper than she intended.

Chancellor Samaria's smile was almost demure. "Well, I was just curious if any progress had been made. You did say you'd handle it personally." Her shrewd green eyes sparkled at the prospect of having the upper hand.

Romana casually gathered her ledger and pen from the table, then turned back to the Chancellor with an imperious smirk. "For now, why don't you concentrate on cleaning up the mess you've made." She walked toward the door and placed a condescending hand on the Chancellor's shoulder. "Perhaps when you become more of a success at your own job, then you can try telling me how to do mine."

The Chancellor had no reply to that. She pressed her lips together and wheeled away, heading down the long corridor in a flurry of scarlet.

Romana watched her go, unease gnawing at her gut. She didn't trust the Chancellor and not just because she was something of a warmonger. Nor was it just because her bloodline had ties to the Scendeles Chapter. It was mostly because it had been the Chancellor who had brought the paradox to Romana's attention in the first place.

Somehow, this woman who had coasted through the Academy and onto the High Council on her family name, who had zero interest in temporal theory and had perhaps the least curious mind that Romana had ever encountered, had been the first in all of Gallifrey to discover the temporal anomaly?

Romana watched as the Chancellor grew smaller and smaller down the mile long corridor, until she disappeared.

_She must know more that she's not telling, _Romana decided.

She sighed. There was so much plaguing her right now. She still hadn't heard anything from the Doctor and now this mess at the Academy. Romana chewed her lip. She needed some time to collect herself.

She pulled a mobile device from her pocket and sent a message to Cardinal Wrayvius instructing him to meet her in their usual spot, then headed to her private quarters. There she changed quickly out of her ceremonial garb into a gray and pale rose colored dress.

Romana stopped in front of a mirror and fretted with her hair for a bit, feeling foolishly vain but unable to help herself. She wanted to look her best for _him_. She regarded herself in the mirror, knowing full well that she was behaving recklessly but she was so caught up in the excitement of their clandestine affair, she couldn't seem to stop.

She had been friends with Wrayvius since their Academy days and Romana had always found him both fascinating and easy on the eyes. Their friendship had never developed into anything beyond platonic until he'd begun working at the Capital. That's when the flirtation began.

Romana soon found that when the two of them were in a room alone, Wrayvius would openly flirt with her. He would tease her (nothing inappropriate, mind you) and pay her compliments with a confidence that defied his much lower ranking. At the time, he had only been Under Cardinal, and always regarded her with deference around others. But when they were alone, he never spoke to her in any way other than as a man who was attracted to a woman. In fact, when it was just the two of them, he was entirely unimpressed by her position. Which Romana discovered- to her surprise- was an undeniable turn-on.

Romana found herself drawn to him and she would find ways to make his presence required just so she might have a few of those precious alone moments with him. When that wasn't enough, they began meeting privately.

They would sit for hours in the crumbling library on the West side of the Capital and just talk. Romana told him tales of her travels with the Doctor and confided her hopes and fears. Wrayvius would hold her hand and talk about his deceased sister and what it had been like growing up in the Drylands.

It had only been in the past two weeks that things had begun heating up between them. Once it got physical, they'd begun meeting in the Cloisters, a place that no Time Lord in their right mind would dare go willingly.

Romana pulled a book on her shelf downward and a panel slid open in the wall revealing a staircase. She made her way into the secret passage and slid the panel back in place.

There was a small room in one corner of the Cloisters that they had made theirs. The room was little more than a large empty storage closet they'd furnished with a single small table and a chaise lounge. The oil lamp atop the small table was already lit and she found Wrayvius waiting for her, sitting on the chaise.

He didn't stand to greet her when she entered the room. Instead he looked up at her with a small smile on his handsome face, his dark eyes smoldering with wonderful mischief.

As ever, she was drawn to him. She joined him on the chaise and allowed herself to be wrapped tightly in his strong arms.

"Is this a new dress?" he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Romana pressed herself even closer to him. "I had you in mind when I bought it." she admitted.

He chuckled, then kissed her gently. "It is quite lovely on you." he praised, running one hand down her side as if to fully appreciate the quality of the fabric.

Romana pulled herself free from his embrace and stood. "Full disclosure, I actually had _this_ in mind, when I bought it." And with one fluid movement, she unzipped the dress on the side and it easily slid off. The gown pooled around her feet, revealing her naked petite figure.

Wrayvius grinned a slow, naughty grin and pulled her back down to the chaise.

* * *

_**Alton, IL, 1 October 2019**_

After a cursory look around and a quick word with the stylish young woman behind the counter, the Doctor left the deli and headed down College Avenue. As curious as he was, he was afraid to meddle too much in whatever might be happening here. Where paradoxes were concerned, you could never be too careful.

He passed the personal loan office he remembered from earlier and took a quick right down a blind alley where he'd parked the TARDIS.

He was perplexed. According to his Temporal Sensor, there were definitely traces of temporal distortion inside the establishment. It was low level, like background radiation but it certainly indicated some form of anomaly.

And the other worker behind the counter? It had been the same young man he'd met near the waterfall. Sebastian. According to the TARDIS, that had been about five weeks ago for Sebastian. Less than an hour ago for the Doctor.

He stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door, a look of annoyance on his face.

"Alright Old Girl. What exactly are you playing at?" He looked all around the console room as if a verbal explanation might be forthcoming. "You gave me space time coordinates to Starved Rock State Park, presumably to stop that lost young man from doing anything regrettable. So why did you then direct me to the deli where he works? Hmm? What am I meant to do now? Order a sandwich?"

The lights in the control room dimmed momentarily then returned to normal. "Don't like my sarcastic tone? Well then maybe you should provide me with the missing piece of this little puzzle. Who's the lad? Why is he so important?"

The lights flickered once more and the Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Are you even trying to help me get to the bottom of this paradox? Is Sebastian involved in some way? Because none of this makes any sense! What's the connection?"

When the TARDIS offered little more than a vague hum in response, the Doctor sat down in his favorite leather reading chair, and crossed his arms in protest. "Alright then. If you won't give me some sort of useful information, then I'll just stay right here and read my book. I'm through grasping at straws!" With that, he snatched his book from the arm of the chair and angrily began to read.

Once he realized what he was reading, he turned the book over and glanced at its cover in confusion.

He had been last reading _Goodbye To All That_ by Robert Graves. And he very clearly remembered setting it on the arm of the chair. Yet this book was entitled _The Dark Times:_ _A Chronicle of Gallifrey's Forgotten History. _Now where had that come from?

The Doctor had most certainly never laid eyes on it before. Puzzled, he opened it again and began to read.

_As it is often in great societies, the Age of the Pythias was upended by betrayal and violence. By men. Rassilon and his ilk ushered in what is said to be an age of technology and reason. They cast out what they called the irrationality of superstition, and anchored the web of time, positioning themselves as the new beginning of history._

_The last Pythia was deposed, her empire overthrown. She and her remaining followers were driven into the mountains, the males marked for death, the females spared only because the mysterious powers of the Pythia's lineage remained cloaked in secrecy. It seemed, even among the science minded elite of the now ruling Time Lords, the "irrationality of superstition" remained._

The Doctor stopped reading and traced a finger around the intricate lettering on the page. This was the legend of the Last Pythia, a figure who was heavily maligned in Time Lord society. Her followers were looked on with scorn. Yet this book, written in Old High Gallifreyan, told the tale as if the Time Lords were the antagonists.

He squinted down at the pages and read a bit more.

_One by one, the male members of Pythia's followers disappeared. If they weren't put to death, it was only because they left on their own, denouncing the Pythia and her sacred teachings to save themselves. Before long, all that remained was a devout sisterhood, starving and afraid, dwelling in a series of caves in the wastelands of Gallifrey. Their future, their very existence teetered on the edge of extinction._

_In order to save her flock, the last Pythia, the once mighty High Priestess who reigned over all the land, foresaw only one way forward for her flock. They were to leave Gallifrey at once and settle on Karn. She would gather her remaining acolytes for one final ceremony. She already knew (but of course she knew) it would be the last night of her life._

The Doctor closed the book and stared at the ancient cover as if it held some further hint. Since he had never had this book in his possession before, he presumed this was some sort of message from the TARDIS.

But what could it possibly mean? What did the ancient histories of Gallifrey have to do with a temporal paradox? And what did any of it have to do with an American deli on earth?

He set the book down and stood once more, looking all around the console room. "Old Girl what are you trying to tell me? Romana said I am somehow wrapped up in this paradox. That I've been to the Trappist Star System before, though I can't remember having been. Please, just give me a bit more help." He sighed and gestured to the book. "I'm afraid your history lesson has only served to confuse matters further."

As if in response, the TARDIS suddenly began to dematerialize, all on her own. A sound of surprise escaped his lips as he was nearly knocked off his feet. He grabbed for the nearest column and managed to stay upright.

"And just what do you think you're doing? Who's driving this thing anyhow?" He made his way clumsily to the center of the control room as the TARDIS spun through the time vortex of her own accord, the Doctor just along for the ride.

He reached the console and held tight. He attempted in vain to take control of his mutinous time and space capsule, trying several different switches and levers to no avail.

Resignedly, he glanced over at the navigational display to see where they were headed.

"Blank? It can't just be blank!" He was positively affronted at the nerve of the TARDIS.

"As the pilot of this ship, I demand to know where we're going!" he yelled over the sound of the TARDIS suddenly rematerializing.

He blinked. Across the screen that had been blank only seconds ago, there were two words repeated over and over again, filling the screen.

_Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie_


	5. Chapter 5

**Lucy's Tavern, East Alton, IL, 5 October 2019**

The bar was on the poorer side of town near the train tracks and shuttered factories. The parking lot was dirt and gravel and weeds. The cursive 'U' on the pink sign out front had been burned out for as long as Sebastian could remember. He liked Lucy's because it was quiet and small and dark. There wasn't a raucous crowd dancing, or a live band or a bar full of bros shouting at some stupid sports event on TV. There was just a small bar, two pool tables, a jukebox and three booths.

And best of all, the fact that nobody he knew hung out on this side of town added an air of anonymity. It was the perfect place for someone like him who just wanted to get drunk in peace.

His dad's new wife Rena had invited Sebastian to join them for a movie. It was sweet of her to invite him and all but the thought of being the third wheel on his dad's date made him throw up in his mouth a little.

Besides, it had been a particularly shitty day. This morning he'd gotten another rejection email, this time for a lousy tech support job- a job for which he was grossly overqualified.

Sebastian leaned back against the padded backing of the booth and threw back some more Jack and coke. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd been blacklisted. That his name was probably being dragged through the dirt by the higher ups at Paraskevi Technologies.

He white knuckle gripped the almost empty glass and remembered his last day at work. A day that Hannah had taken upon herself to transform into an episode of the Jerry Springer Show. Bad enough that she was pregnant with another man's child, bad enough that the other man was his coworker and closest friend. Worse yet, she decided to disclose this information to Sebastian while he was at work, mere feet away from where Noah was giving a presentation in the glass enclosed conference room.

He hadn't thought at all. He's simply headed straight into the conference room and knocked Noah down with one punch. Then he'd climbed on top of him and started throttling him. All this, in front of the startled faces of the members of the Board of Trustees.

The police were called but Noah had the good grace to decline pressing charges. Sebastian was thrown out on his ass though and instructed never to return. His belongings would be sent in the mail.

He'd gone home to find Hannah had already moved out. That was when he'd grabbed the bottle of rum and headed North toward Tonty Canyon.

Sebastian felt a shudder overtake his entire body at the thought of that awful night. At the thought of the strange man who may well have saved his life.

_How the hell had the same man been at the deli this week?_

Sebastian wasn't one to give in to superstition or to believe in anything remotely mystical. But he also didn't believe in coincidences.

He drained his glass, then peeked around to catch the bartender's attention. He realized that the middle aged woman with pockmarked skin who'd served him his first drink had been replaced by a younger woman. Her back was turned toward Sebastian as she wiped down glasses with a bar towel.

She was wearing a pair of tight black jeans and a black tank top, revealing a lot of pale flesh covered in tattoos. Her unnaturally red hair was piled on top of her head in a bun held in place by two black pencils. Even from behind, he'd recognize the red hair and tattoos anywhere.

He scoffed. _Wonderful_. _So much for anonymity._

Just then, Maci turned and their eyes met. He shrugged and held up his glass. Too late to sneak out the side door. May as well get another drink.

She sauntered over and stopped at the corner of his table, arms crossed. "What are you having?" she asked coolly.

Maci had been acting cool to him at work ever since he'd run out on his shift to chase down the ghost from his past. He didn't exactly blame her.

He cleared his throat. "Jack and coke. Since when do you work here?"

She took his glass. "It's like my second day. Trying to find a better place to live. Had to get a second job." She shrugged.

When he had nothing to say to that, she raised her eyebrows, turned and walked away.

It occurred to Sebastian how little he actually knew about Maci. He knew her last name was Raines only because of his dad. But he'd certainly never asked her about herself.

She was already back behind the bar fixing his drink. A patron seated at the bar, an older man in a cowboy hat, must have said something funny because she started to laugh.

_She has a nice laugh_.

And just that thought- the simple thought of liking a girl's laugh sent a jolt of pain right through the center of his chest and Sebastian's thoughts turned to Hannah Weaver. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing Maci would hurry with the drink. Love was such bullshit. He felt like he had a virus that he couldn't be cured of. It was torture.

"Are you alright?" He opened his eyes to find Maci standing there with his drink, studying him curiously.

He managed something tangentially related to a smile. "Just thirsty."

She set the drink down but stayed where she was. After a moment she said. "It's none of my business, but you seem to be in a pretty dark place. And you always seem to be alone..."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes at her. What was she, a fucking oracle now? "Your point being?"

Maci shrugged again. "Just, maybe you should call a friend or something." Her brown eyes were full of compassion when she added, "It's not good to be alone in the dark."

She headed back to the bar before he could formulate a reply.

He took a big drink. A friend. Sure. He'd once had himself a great friend. Sebastian had had a blast with Noah. He'd partied with Noah. He bounced ideas off of Noah. Confided in him. Trusted him.

Friends were great. Until they weren't.

Alone seemed a far safer alternative.

Sebastian dug into his pocket and pulled out a pill bottle under the table. It was a tylenol bottle but there were a few Xanax floating around in there too. He found one and chased it with the Jack and coke.

It wasn't long before he was feeling more relaxed. He was on drink number four, literally feeling no pain, when some hick asshole decided to put a country song on the jukebox. He could handle the fact that patrons here were a bit on the redneck side. He could even deal with the white trash bar skanks. But country music was where Sebastian drew the line on this night.

He emptied his glass, put on his jacket and headed unsteadily to the counter to settle up.

Maci met him at the register. She appeared to be giving him the once over. "You didn't drive here did you?"

He just chuckled and tossed a couple twenties on the counter. "I'm fine. That should cover it."

Certain mixtures of pills and alcohol have a funny way of playing with time. In one moment, Sebastian was making his way to the door, ignoring Maci's protests. In the next, he was outside, bent at the waste, heaving onto the gravel lot.

He managed to stand upright but ended up leaning against the side of the building to catch his breath. He sniffed and wiped at his mouth with his sleeve. The world was swirling before his eyes, ever so slightly.

"You sure don't seem fine." Maci grumbled somewhere off to his right. He looked up and realized she had just come around the corner. She was wearing her jacket and had her purse slung over her shoulder and she looked surprisingly more concerned than disgusted.

He patted his pockets and found his keys. "Gotta get home." he mumbled, lurching away from the safety of the wall to go find his car.

"Sebastian Holt." she shouted, making him turn in surprise. Even as fucked up as he was, he could see that her brown eyes meant business. "If you even _try_ to drive home in this condition, I will call your fucking dad." She was holding her cell phone up to emphasize the point.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" he slurred indignantly. "My conscience?"

Maci rolled her eyes but headed straight for him and slung one of his arms over her shoulder. "Come on. You can barely stand upright."

He leaned on her, his fingertips brushing her smooth arm. It occurred to him that he might like to run his hands over all her tattoos. "Are you finished working?" He heard himself ask.

"Yes." she answered, exasperated. "I was headed home when I heard you puking your guts out."

"Thanks for the reminder." Sebastian said. Then he leaned his head against hers. "So are you offering me a ride home Maci?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't drive. I live around the corner. I walked here."

He squinted at her in surprise. "You don't drive? How do you get to the deli from way out here?"

She attempted to shift his weight around her shoulders, struggling to provide balance for the both of them. "There are things called buses. Unfortunately, they don't run at 10 at night"

He managed to find his keys once more and thrust them at her. "Drive me in my car." he suggested.

She chewed her lip. "Then how would I get home?"

He shrugged. "Take my car home. I'll get it from you tomorrow."

"You don't even know me that well."

"True." he admitted, before whispering right in her ear. "But I know where you work." Christ, she smelled good.

Maci made a frustrated sound. "Where the hell did you park?"

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Maci Raines peeked through the mini blinds of her front window for the third time. She sat back down on the ancient brown and orange sofa and sighed.

_It was going on 9:30. He should be here by now._

She just managed to keep herself from jumping up for a fourth peek. What the hell did she have to be anxious about anyway? She wasn't the one who made an ass of herself the night before.

The truth was, she wasn't sure what to make of Sebastian Holt.

Now his father was one of the nicest guys she'd ever met. She'd worked for him for nearly two years now and he was a wonderful and understanding boss. Evan had always bragged about his only son, talking about how well he'd done in school and what a sweet kid he'd been. And though she'd never met him, Maci had learned bits and pieces about Sebastian's life. That he was living up near Peoria, had a successful career doing something with computers and that he was engaged to a pretty blonde from a wealthy family. He sounded like he had it made.

She'd been surprised then, when he'd shown up back in town the previous month and started working at his father's deli. He was a good looking guy, maybe a couple years older than her with dark blonde hair and a matching closely trimmed beard. His eyes were probably the first thing she noticed. Not just because they were a startling glacier blue, but because they looked so sad. In fact, his whole demeanor seemed pretty miserable most of the time. There was no trace of the happy go lucky, sweet kid her boss had told her about.

Evan hadn't filled her in on the whole story and she didn't feel it was her place to ask but Maci could read between the lines. Obviously, he hadn't skipped out on his thriving career and perfect girl for no reason. Something must have gone terribly wrong for him to come back home. He was clearly going through some shit. But did he have to be such a condescending dick all the time?

Maci had spent most of her life dealing with people thinking they were better than her and she had developed a pretty thick skin. But she also wasn't about to take anyone's shit- boss's son or not.

And despite all that, she felt sorry for him. Had even taken care of him when he'd gotten himself so wrecked he couldn't stand up straight. She rolled her eyes, remembering his cringey behavior last night. Suddenly she heard the sound of the Dickerson's mean dog barking like crazy and she didn't even have to peek out the blinds to know Sebastian had arrived to retrieve his Honda.

She opened the door on his first knock and peered out to find him looking disheveled in jeans and a wrinkled green flannel. It was a cool morning but he was sweating. Probably still nursing a bitch of a hangover.

"Good morning." she greeted.

He blew out a loud breath. "That bus ride sucked. Two transfers," he grumbled, skipping the niceties. He looked back over his shoulder at the barking dog. "You never mentioned you lived in a trailer park."

Maci was annoyed. "And you never mentioned your drinking problem yet here we are." She thrust his ring of keys at him, ready to close the door and be done with the transaction.

Sebastian took the keys and stared down at them. "Thanks for driving me home last night. I'm sure I made a goddamn fool of myself." He looked back up at her. "I'm sorry if I was out of line in any way towards you."

His humility caught her off guard, and she softened. "You weren't that bad. Aside from getting puke on my shoes and creepily whispering in my ear, you were the perfect gentleman." She chuckled, remembering.

He actually smiled at that, perhaps the first time she'd ever seen a real smile on his face. "I swear I don't always get like that." He fidgeted with his keys, like there was more he wanted to say.

Maci waited.

"My whole life recently fell apart." he admitted after the awkward silence.

She was just as surprised as he was when she heard herself ask him, "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

It felt foreign having him in her space. She felt uncharacteristically self conscious about the cluttered old mobile home.

She grabbed another mug from the cabinet while he chose a seat at the counter height table. She saw him pick up the chipped mother goose salt shaker and examine it. "It's my mom's place." she explained as she poured his coffee. "She died a few months back and I haven't had the heart to get rid of any of her things."

He looked embarrassed. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I didn't know."

She chuckled. "How could you have?" She held up the small carton of Half and Half. "Cream?"

He nodded and she brought the sugar too. As he stirred his coffee, he asked quietly, "How did she pass?"

Maci wrapped her hands around her mug, comforted by its warmth. "Cancer. I moved back home last year to take care of her." She pulled a face. "Now here I am with an unsellable trailer on a plot of land worth nothing and a buttload of junk."

"Were you two close?"

She smiled and felt an ache in the back of her throat. "We were. We told each other everything. She was my best friend."

He nodded, his blue eyes full of genuine sympathy. "I don't know what I'd do if lost my dad." He shook his head. "He's always been there for me, even when my mom split." He scoffed. "Even when I'm being an ungrateful douche and really don't deserve it."

She shrugged. "We all act like ungrateful douches sometimes. There's where that whole unconditional love thing comes in."

She noticed he was staring at the tattoo on her left upper arm and she raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a problem with tattoos or something?"

His eyes went back to her face, guilty like he'd been caught. "No. What makes you say that."

She laughed. "I heard you refer to me as Kat Von D at work the other day."

He actually blushed, which was honestly kind of adorable. "I don't have a problem with tattoos. I swear!"

She leaned forward, teasing him. "Just tattoos on girls then."

He was flustered and quickly blurted. "Hannah had one on her ankle. Some kind of flower." And the instant he'd said the words, she saw him visibly flinch as if in pain.

Hannah must have been the rich blonde in Peoria.

"She broke your heart." Maci said softly. A statement, not a question.

He laughed humorlessly. "My _ex_ fiancee. Who is having a baby with my _ex_ best friend." He raised his coffee cup as if to toast them, then took a sip.

She winced. "Oof. Well that explains a lot." She toyed with her mug for a moment before asking. "Was he the British guy at the deli?"

Something changed in his face at the question. "No. That was… that was someone else entirely." He looked _haunted_. It was the only word for it.

After all the heavy subject matter, Maci clumsily tried to lighten the mood. "For some weird reason, I had a dream about that guy last night." She held a hand up. "Not in a dirty way. He was just kinda there, standing in the shadows. There was this huge waterfall and his hair was all wet and-" She suddenly noticed the way Sebastian was looking at her. "What?"

He'd gotten to his feet. "What did he say?" he demanded.

His abrupt change in tone was almost disorientating. She blinked. "Sebastian. What's wrong?"

He set the mug down and grabbed her wrist, squeezing. "Tell me what he said in your dream."

Alarm bells started to go off in her mind. Maci was staring down at the hand wrapped around her wrist, wondering if this guy was an actual lunatic who meant to harm her.

Her voice quavered slightly. "He said 'you're hurt'."

He said the words with her. She gasped and looked up, wide eyed and confused. "How did you know?"

Sebastian finally let go of her and took a step backwards. "It's what he said to me..." he said in a dazed fashion, looking at her like she'd grown another head. "The night I met him. Near a waterfall."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Cloisters, The Capital, Gallifrey**

They lay entangled upon the chaise lounge, the oil lamp burning low. Outside their small, secret den, the Cloister Wraiths slid around in the darkness, wailing their eerie phantom wails.

"Can I tell you something and trust your discretion on the matter?" Romana whispered, the side of her face pressed against his chest. His double heartbeat was soothing and she felt relaxed for the first time in days.

Wrayvius ran his fingertips gently up and down her bare back. "Do you even need to ask me that?"

She smiled up at him. "Would I be me if I didn't?"

He smirked and raised a dark eyebrow. "Go on then."

"It's Chancellor Samaria. I've begun to seriously question her loyalty."

Wrayvius shifted and wrapped his arm around her. "Has she done something specific to arouse your suspicion?"

"She brought something to my attention recently. A… peculiarity in the known history of a faraway star system." Romana chewed her lip, reluctant to reveal too much. "I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say, the change in history poses a threat to the web of time."

"And you think she's involved in this 'peculiarity' somehow?" He wondered, propping his head up on one hand. "Why then would she call attention to it?"

She shook her head, her eyes narrowed. "I really don't know. But it simply makes no sense how she could have come by such information. Have you ever known her to show the slightest bit of curiosity about any civilization outside the Constellation of Kasterberous?"

Wrayvius chuckled, a low rumble against her ear. "Point taken."

"She's far too ambitious for her own good. And far too ready to take up arms." Romana took hold of his hand and admired their interlaced fingers. "I don't trust her."

The arm around her pulled her in a bit tighter. "Would you like me to do a little digging? See what I can find out about her day to day activities? Perhaps look into any offworld communications?"

Romana looked up at him once more. "Only if _you_ handle the investigation personally. Tell _no one_ what you are doing. And keep it strictly unofficial for now."

"Strictly unofficial." Wrayvius agreed, then bent and kissed the top of her head. "And you need not worry. I won't allow you to come to any harm."

* * *

**Giannes, 22 February 3020 AD**

River stood almost dead center in the thoroughfare, blocking the path of pedestrians. It was one of the main streets in the Northern colony on Giannes. The colony was called Apastron and at last census, boasted a population of over 320,000.

She stood, her mouth a grim line as she studied the SRS device she held. This exact spot. These precise spatial coordinates. She wasn't mistaken.

At this time of day, there was a somewhat steady flow of foot traffic in the local area. The shops were open and the beach was in walking distance. A real sense of community had developed here. A culture.

In the growth of any civilization, community and culture were a progression in the natural order of things. A given.

But River was seeing it through the context of past experience. She had seen this planet uncultivated and uninhabited. She'd stood in this very spot only a year earlier- except it wasn't on a busy street in the middle of a thriving colony. She'd been standing in a cockpit where she placed flowers on the pilot seat of an expedition vessel. _Aphelion Silver. _A year ago, the dead ship sat in a barren landscape and she'd turned her back on it and boarded the TARDIS.

River put the device in her pocket and moved out of the way of the throng of colonists. She leaned against the steel and glass display window of a sweets shop and tried not to allow panic to set in. She was already feeling terribly disorientated. Even her vision was swimming slightly.

This couldn't be. This was impossible.

It didn't take an archaeologist to know that an entire working society doesn't just crop up in the space of a year. Not to mention the complex infrastructure.

"_Impossible", s_he breathed as the implications played out in her mind.

Something very wrong must have happened. Something that couldn't be the result of their interference here… could it?

She didn't much like it when she realized that her very first instinct was to call the Doctor. It was an incredibly stupid idea for two reasons. First, because the Doctor would have no recollection of their dealings with the Aquarius Epta Project. They'd agreed it was too dangerous to know what they now knew. About Monaxi. About his family. About Promise. The Doctor had agreed to the erasure of his memory.

And then there was the second reason that contacting him was an incredibly stupid idea. She had agreed to erase her own memory as well.

Only she hadn't.

While she certainly agreed it was the best course of action for the Doctor to forget everything that had taken place- including meeting her- she had stopped short of taking the capsule of Vergessen herself.

It wasn't that she really wanted to remember the vile Aquarius Epta Project or that she had any particular concern for Monaxi and his problems. It was something the Doctor had said when he initially protested the idea of wiping their memories. It was when the Doctor had said _Nobody will remember Cadence or Haven Barber._

Cadence and Haven. The two young women she and the Doctor had encountered on board Aquarius Epta before it landed on Giannes in the year 2080. It was the ship that was meant to carry the future colonists of the Trappist Star System to their new home. A ship that for all intents and purposes was a slave ship. Naturally that bit of information had been left off the official brochures. Now both women were lost to time, thanks to the mysterious atemporal properties of this damned star system.

River didn't want to forget the young women who had been so brave in spite of years of abuse and losing their parents at a young age. And she didn't want to forget her own crew who she'd lost on this same planet in 3019.

She'd come here today on the 1 year anniversary to leave flowers on board Aphelion Silver. Flowers to remember Blaine Mackey, Olwen Booth, Eirenne Mercer and even meatheaded Frank Lantieri. As a tribute. As a symbol of her regret.

Only everything about this planet was wrong and it made no sense at all.

River sighed and pushed away from the building. She headed west and made her way back to the spaceport where her skiff was parked. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, heading toward evening, still sunny but a comfortable temperature. River spotted a few trees and plants she recognized from earth but many others that were unknown to her.

The scientist in her felt a rush of curiosity. An entire ecosystem had developed here providing a whole new species of plant-life.

On a road called Sagan, she passed a daycare with a fenced in playground. She could hear the shouts and laughter of the little children and she was overcome once more with the swimmy vision, the feeling of disorientation.

She stopped and leaned against an elm tree, waiting for her head to clear and had a troubling revelation. The children. They were alive here, on this planet, in this star system… only- they should have never existed. Their presence here was impossible.

When she reached her small spacecraft she opened the airlock door and climbed right in, settling herself in the pilot seat. Locked away in the skiff, safe inside the comfort of her own little world, River began to take inventory of the situation.

Facts:

The last time River had visited this planet a year ago, it had been barren and unoccupied.

One year on, and it was teeming with life. With a colony that must have been here far longer than a year.

Conclusion:

Something had gone wrong with time.

She glanced at the bundle of purple hyacinth in the seat beside her and knew she was going to need the Doctor for this one.

She leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat, closed her eyes and made a sound of frustration.

Though she didn't even wish to admit it to herself, River had also opted out of the memory wipe because she didn't want to lose the time she'd had with the Doctor. The Doctor in his Fifth incarnation. Mild-mannered, overly polite, brilliant as ever and appallingly smug.

And a magnificent kisser if she was perfectly honest.

River smiled despite herself. It had been just like any other week with the Doctor. Danger, greed, robots with lasers, corruption, death, … love. She'd captured it in the pages of her diary as she did with all their adventures and spent the last year missing the infuriating blonde boy scout.

She pulled out the blue device she kept in a hidden compartment beneath the steering column. It was a bit of technology she had around for emergencies only. To date, she'd never used it.

River stared down at the tiny blue box- TARDIS blue- with the single silver button labeled _Call. _With the push of a button, she could avoid the aggravation of a phone call to the Doctor. She wouldn't have to explain who she was and why she required his assistance. With the push of a button, she could send a signal directly to the TARDIS telepathic circuits.

A slow grin spread across her lovely face. If convenience and efficiency weren't good enough reasons to hijack the TARDIS, it would also drive the Doctor mad.

River pressed the button.

* * *

"As the pilot of this ship, I demand to know where we're going!" the Doctor yelled over the sound of the TARDIS suddenly rematerializing.

He blinked. Across the screen that had been blank only seconds ago, there were two words repeated over and over again, filling the screen.

_Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie Hello Sweetie_

Was the TARDIS trying to be cute? If so, it was really quite unbecoming of her.

Once they'd fully rematerialized, the TARDIS gave a sly hum, and the cascade of words disappeared from the monitor. In their place was the sort of navigational data typically displayed there.

In this instance, it provided:

_Destination: Giannes [formerly designated as 2MASS J23062928-0502285 g]; Trappist-1_

_Time: 22 February 3020 A.D. 18:12:43_

His eyes narrowed. The Trappist Star System. At least this location made some sense to him in the context of the paradox. But he was no less displeased by the TARDIS suddenly flying herself.

He shot a dirty look toward the ceiling before pulling up the scanner to get a cursory look around outside.

"Well Old Girl it appears you've landed us in some sort of massive warehouse." He squinted at the screen as the scanner surveyed the dimly lit surroundings. "Looks like a storage facility for heavy machinery."

He flicked the number 4 switch and the TARDIS door opened out to the warehouse. The Doctor made sure the Temporal Sensor was still in his pocket, grabbed a torch off the console and headed into the darkness.

He played the beam of the torch around and peered at the machinery through the shadows. It appeared to be farm equipment.

The Doctor was starting to get a very bad feeling. Romana had said that these planets had been empty for millennia. That only in the _potential_ timeline was there a burgeoning society.

Farm equipment certainly pointed to a burgeoning society.

His mouth was set in a grim line as he exited the warehouse onto a gravel strewn driveway. Across the field, in the near distance, he could see a city; a city teeming with life. Businesses, homes, vehicles driving down streets.

This could only mean one thing- that the timeline had become set. What had been merely potential was now actual.

"Romana isn't going to like this." he muttered under his breath as he cut through the field, heading toward civilization. He was already getting a reading on the Temporal Meter that grew stronger the closer he came to town.

When he reached a residential neighborhood, he spotted a child riding a bicycle. The child appeared to be humanoid, perhaps 9 or 10. The Doctor watched him as he went whizzing by, an eerie sensation in his mind.

He shook it off and continued walking, consulting the Temporal Meter once more. When he turned left, the beeping slowed. But when he backtracked and headed in the opposite direction, the beeping increased exponentially.

He nearly ran right into the woman, so intently was he studying the device's screen.

"Hello Sweetie." A sly female voice directly in front of him broke into his concentration.

He looked up slowly to find a beautiful woman with a cloud of wild curls and a smirk on her face. She appeared to also be holding some sort of device that was beeping rapidly. It took a moment for her words to hit him. The words that had appeared on the navigational display back in the TARDIS.

_Hello Sweetie._

For once, the Doctor found himself at a loss for words.

"Took me long enough to find you." the stranger murmured, switching off her device and stowing it in her pocket. "How long have you been here?"

He blinked rapidly, growing more confused with each passing moment. "I'm sorry. Have we met?"

The woman's smirk turned into a full blown smile. It was a stunning smile. "A complicated question, that. Why don't we stick with the basics for right now. My name is River Song, you're the Doctor and I called you here because something has gone wrong."

"Wait just a moment." the Doctor's voice was high with indignation, "How could you possibly have summoned my ship? Who exactly are you?"

She sighed. "Doctor, we really don't have time for this. For the moment, can you just trust that I'm not an enemy." Her green eyes were imploring. "I promise I will explain everything but for right now, we need to find out what's happened here. Please come with me." And with that she turned and began walking.

The Doctor followed. He was silent for a beat, a hundred questions in his head. "Tell me what you know about the paradox." he said at last.

River Song stopped walking and looked at him wide-eyed. "You already know about the paradox?"

"It was brought to my attention." he provided vaguely, crossing his arms.

Concern etched her features. "Then it's as I thought. Something has gone wrong with time. Something changed." She squinted at him. "And it appears that you really don't remember anything that transpired here. Do you?"

Understanding dawned on him. "So we _have_ met before. Here on this very planet." He regarded her with suspicion. "Strange that I can't remember the occasion. Tell me Miss Song. Any idea why that might be?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You agreed to have your memory wiped." she told him matter of factly and started walking again.

He fell into step with her once more. "Why in the Constellation of Kasterberous would I ever have agreed to such a thing?"

Her features turned grim and she pointed to the right. "My ship is this way." They walked a bit further before she replied. "We learned something here. Something we never should have learned." She shook her head. "Dangerous knowledge that nobody should have."

"Why then is your memory intact?" He demanded. "I very much doubt I would have agreed to a memory wipe unless whomever else was involved agreed to the same."

"Yes, well. I'd fully intended on wiping my memory. " She laughed, a throaty chuckle. "I suppose I must have forgot."

Now it was his turn to stop walking. "Miss Song. I'm not sure you fully understand the potential ramifications of a temporal paradox. You say what we learned here was dangerous? I assure you that playing games with time is far more dangerous."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Says the man who routinely plays games with time."

The Doctor became visibly flustered, resentful of the fact that this secretive stranger appeared to know him well enough to make such as assessment. "Miss Song. I refuse to go another step until you tell me exactly what happened on this planet in the year 2080."

She made a sound of frustration and rolled her eyes. "You would be stubborn." She stepped toward him, her hands grabbing for his.

He stepped back. "What do you think you're doing?"

Her eyes were kind, her voice soothing. "You want to know what happened? Let me _show_ you." She moved toward him a bit more gently and this time when she reached for his hands, he allowed it. And when she placed his fingertips against her temples, he understood.

He closed his eyes and felt her fingertips at his temples.

"Contact." she said softly.

"Contact." he echoed.

The onslaught of information nearly bowled him over.

_Slowly _he told her inside his mind, seeing that she was less practiced with her telepathy.

The information came slower and started to make some sense.

_His Fifth incarnation. Alongside his companion Turlough._

_Two young women aboard a ship- a slave ship. Cadence and Haven Barber. A mine with purple crystals. _

_Captain Thorogood Young. Guardian of Protection Leigh Schultz._

_River Song injured and covered in blood. A country garden lit with fireflies. A song._

_Atemporality._

_Androids._

_Monaxi, the Time Lord who had come to this star system to protect his wife Soteria. Soteria who was the daughter of the Last Pythia. And their daughter, Promise._

His eyes flew open, a small sound escaping his throat.

She was gazing at him with sympathy. Her hands left the sides of his head and she gently straightened his collar. "I know it's a lot to take in." she said softly. "But once you've got your bearings, I think you know what we need to do next."

"We need to see Monaxi." he said, his expression blank, his voice sounding a little hoarse and strange to his own ear.

She hadn't shown him every detail, but he certainly got the gist that the two of them had been _slightly_ more than friends. Androids he could deal with. Slave ships and atemporal crystals were right up his alley. But he had no idea what to make of _this _development.

She nodded. "Monaxi lived on the planet Felix. My ship will get us there within the hour."

She dropped her hands from his lapels and gave him that smirk again. "And call me River."


	7. Chapter 7

**East Alton, IL, 5 October 2019**

Sebastian sat back down at Maci's kitchen table, feeling nauseous. He covered his face for a moment and took a couple deep breaths.

"_What are you talking about_?" She practically shouted.

"It really happened". He repeated. "It wasn't just a dream. It happened the night I met him." His voice went low and his stomach dropped. "The night I almost took my own life."

Her eyes registered a whole range of emotions, before she shook her head and said adamantly, "But how could I have dreamed about something that happened to you that I knew nothing about? That's fucking impossible!"

It _was _impossible. But there was no denying the facts. She knew about the waterfall. She knew what the man had said. He looked down at his hands. And now she knew that he'd been suicidal. Maci Raines was the first person he'd told about any of it.

"So who is the guy anyway?"

"I really don't know." He shrugged. "He never even told me his name."

"And the other day at the deli…?"

"Was insane." Sebastian finished the sentence, sounding every bit as bewildered as he felt. "I don't know how he could have found me. That was why I ran out looking for him."

Maci stood to refill their coffee, her expression thoughtful. He studied her, realizing he'd never seen her like this, without all the makeup. Her brown eyes weren't surrounded by the dramatic shadow and black liquid liner. Her full lips weren't hidden behind blue or black lipstick. She always looked good but her look was usually theatre. Not today.

Her eyebrow piercing and nostril ring were still present but her face was clean and natural. Unsullied. To Sebastian, she looked younger and very pretty.

"I never remember my dreams." She told him after she'd sat back down. "But that one was so vivid." She squinted. "I can remember every detail."

Crazy enough that she'd had a somewhat psychic dream. But why did it have to be about the worst night of _his_ life? It felt strangely intrusive.

She was watching him. After a moment she asked gently. "What happened that night Sebastian? What happened with the man at the waterfall?"

"He stopped me." Sebastian answered simply, feeling too vulnerable to meet her eyes. "I was at my very lowest point and this weird, barefoot motherfucker just appeared out of nowhere and somehow stopped me from making an unfixable mistake."

"He saved your life." Her voice was full of wonder but had gone so soft, it was nearly a whisper. "How did he get through to you?"

Sebastian shrugged, doubting he could even put it into words. And when the words did come to him, he chuckled, knowing how lame they would sound. He said them anyway.

"He showed me the stars."

**Holt's Deli- Alton, IL, 20 October 2019**

"Number 17!" Sebastian called out.

The elderly woman who approached the deli counter was a regular. She wore a soft pink sweater with pearl buttons. Her large eye glasses were secured around the back of her neck with a gold chain.

"Good morning Mrs. Toenjes. What can I get for you today?" It was a rhetorical question- she always got the same thing.

"One pound of tavern ham and a dollar's worth of tuna salad." she instructed with a tired looking smile.

"Yes ma'am", he nodded and grabbed the ham out of the deli case. He gave Maci a look on his way to the slicer and she raised her eyebrows in reply.

When the customers had cleared, Maci leaned against the counter and announced. "I think I've figured it out."

Sebastian smirked and hopped up to sit on the stainless steel table directly across from her. "Go on then." he encouraged.

"_Maybe_ it's for a magical ritual where she stands in the light of the full moon wearing nothing but slices of ham stuck all over her body and a mask made of tuna."

He nearly choked on his tongue. "That sounds fucking terrifying." he cracked up while she grinned slyly.

When the laughter subsided, he pointed at her. "Too bad you're wrong."

She gave him a challenging look. "Oh yeah?"

He shrugged. "The full moon only comes around once a month. She comes in here every single Sunday."

Maci's face fell as if she were really bummed that her theory didn't hold up. "Damn. You're right."

Sebastian leaned in conspiratorially. "So check this out: _Maybe_ she keeps her husband locked in the cellar and all he gets to eat is a dollar's worth of tuna salad. And it has to last him all week while she feasts on ham sandwiches upstairs."

Maci laughed so hard, tears came to her eyes.

"Sorry to burst your bubbles." Evan Holt cut in from behind and they both sprang to attention like kids caught misbehaving.

Sebastian's dad was pushing a cart laden with a variety of ready to slice meats and cheeses. "I'm afraid the explanation behind the tuna isn't nearly as interesting as all that." He slid open the door of the deli case and began stocking it.

Maci immediately went to help him. "_Ass kisser_." Sebastian hissed at her before following her example.

"So no lunch meat witchcraft by the light of the full moon?" she asked Evan as she stocked the honey ham.

Sebastian's dad chuckled. "Mrs. Toenjes is a Catholic and I don't remember lunch meat being a feature of the Catholic Church."

"And you're sure she isn't a torturous psycho with a starving husband in the cellar?" Sebastian insisted adding some gouda and colby jack to the case.

"Mr. Toenjes has been dead for eight years." Evan informed him dryly.

"So _she_ says." Maci murmured and they both cracked up again.

Sebastian noticed his dad watching them and wondered why.

Evan closed the cheese case and stood. "Mrs. Toenjes has an ancient cat named Bruno. The only way she can get Bruno to take his medicine is by hiding it in tuna."

"A dollar's worth of tuna." Maci said, sounding disappointed.

"I wish you hadn't told us." Sebastian remarked. "The truth is kind of a let down."

Evan clapped his hands together. "It's about 2:00. If you two want to get out of here, I can close up."

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. In point of fact, it was 1:40. Evan always closed the store at 2:00 on Sunday and not a minute earlier. What was up?

"Maci can go." Sebastian offered. "I'll stick around and help."

Maci gave him an exaggerated stunned look. "_You're_ offering to stay later and help?" She tittered but happily untied her apron and set it on the counter.

"Hey Mace. Don't forget your dough." Evan reminded her, opening the cash drawer and counting out tens and twenties.

She went over and took the cash from him. "Thanks Evan. See you guys tomorrow."

"Do you have to work at Lucy's tonight?" Sebastian wondered, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"Nope. I'm off." she told him, slowly walking backwards toward the door.

"Cool. You goin out to get some more tattoos?"

She giggled and checked to make sure Evan wasn't looking before flipping him off.

"Night chump." She told him with a smirk, then turned and left the deli.

He stood watching after her.

"You're an idiot." His dad informed him abruptly.

Sebastian spun around and frowned at his dad. "Wow. Thanks?"

"She wanted you to take her out. Or to 'hang out' with you. Whatever you crazy kids are calling it these days." Evan's smile was knowing as he cleaned the glass on the case.

Sebastian scoffed. "She did not." He scratched his arm and shrugged. "It's not like that. We don't hang out outside work." He didn't add _not since the day I told her I almost killed myself. _

"Take her to dinner tonight. She works so hard. She deserves a nice meal."

Sebastian made a sound of frustration. "Dad, quit pushing me. It's only been-"

"It's only been two months since that snobby gal in Peoria did you dirty? Do you think _Hannah_ spent the past two months crying over you?"

His dad's harsh words hit home but he was relieved to find that Hannah's name hurt less and less each time.

"Dad, please just back off." Sebastian pleaded. "I don't know why you suddenly feel the need to orchestrate my love life."

"I'm not telling you what to do." Evan shrugged. "I'm just happy to see you smiling again. Maci makes you smile. That's all." He held up his hands in surrender and turned to take apart the meat slicer for cleaning.

Sebastian worked alongside his father in silence for a while. The truth was, Maci had not exactly known Sebastian at his best. Basically, he'd been a fucking trainwreck since they'd met. Him being a lazy, sullen prick at work. Then there was his artful drunken performance at Lucy's two weeks ago. Followed by all that weird shit about the mystery guy and the dream…

But he'd be lying if he said he didn't like her. There was something about her, so far removed from the kind of girl he usually went for. It went beyond her style and social status. She was a genuine and positive person. His dad was right. Maci did make him smile.

The thought of her reminded him of something he'd been wondering about. "Hey dad, why do you always pay Maci out of the register? You write Cherrie and Tom checks. Hell, you even write _me_ out a check."

Evan didn't look up from what he was doing. "She can't cash a check, and I can't run her through payroll anyway."

Sebastian's brow furrowed. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Something about her immigrant status. She was born in Russia, I think. The adoption was a little shady and she never got all the official paperwork. Her mom Tish and I have known each other since school. A couple years ago, she called me up and asked if I could give her daughter a job and pay her under the table." His dad shrugged. "I've never regretted it. Maci's the best worker I've ever had."

_Adopted? _Sebastian was blown away. "Wait a second. You mean she doesn't have any kind of documents at all? No social security card, no birth certificate? How did she go to school?"

Evan looked at him like he'd grown a third eye. "Maci was home-schooled. How has she not told you any of this? Some friend you are. Do you ever even ask her about herself?"

Sebastian took the trash around back, still feeling unsettled by the news. How could someone lead a normal life with no identity papers at all?

Somehow though, it bothered him even more that he didn't already know about it. He closed the lid on the dumpster and took out his phone.

He typed a text into a previous messenger conversation with Maci.

_So what are you doing tonight?_

He took a deep breath and hit send.

* * *

**East Alton, IL, Later that evening**

Maci stood on her front step in the fading light waiting for Sebastian to pick her up.

She was making an effort to keep things as casual as possible. She wasn't going to make him come to the door to get her. She hadn't put on a bunch of makeup or dressed particularly cute.

The last thing she wanted Sebastian to think was that _she_ thought this was some kind of date.

Maci rolled her eyes and zipped up her black hoodie. Yes, she was probably overthinking things. But the trouble was, the more she got to know him, the more she liked being in his company. And that was not good, because she didn't believe for one second she was anything close to his type.

When she'd gotten his text earlier, she was troubled by the butterflies that had taken flight in her stomach at the prospect of seeing him outside of work. He was probably just lonely and needed to talk. He was going through stuff and didn't have any friends in the area. It was as simple as that.

She checked the time on her phone and cursed herself. She'd come out much too early. Maybe she should go back in and wait after all. Did waiting out here make her look too eager?

These days, Maci wasn't exactly boy crazy. She had one serious relationship that had ended badly and she'd been pretty reluctant to put herself out there ever since. It just seemed like too much trouble.

So what was so different about Sebastian Holt?

Well, there were the eyes. And the smile. And that body... Plus he was smart and funny. Sometimes their chemistry seemed undeniable. And then there was the crazy connection they had with her dream. As bizarre as it had sounded, she'd believed what he'd told her. He looked far too freaked out to be pretending.

The Dickerson's asshole dog started barking and Maci realized it was too late now to go back inside. She leaned against the handrail of the steps, attempting to look relaxed as the headlights from his Honda washed over her.

She walked over to the passenger side and he let her in.

"I would have knocked on your door you know." Sebastian told her, looking amused.

_Fuck._

She shrugged. "I was out checking the mail." she lied.

"You hungry?" he wondered as they left the trailer park.

She shook her head. "Nah. I had a late lunch after work." She left out the fact that her stomach was busy doing somersaults at the moment.

"A drink?" he suggested, turning onto St. Louis street.

Maci made a face. "I kinda hate the bar scene." she admitted.

"We could make a stop at the liquor store and grab a bottle. Go somewhere and talk."

"Cool." she agreed. "But no whiskey. I hate that shit."

He chuckled. "No whiskey then. Your choice."

Her choice was a pint of spiced rum. He handed it to her when they got back in the car and they drove out to West End Park over in Wood River.

When they were parked, she opened the bottle and took a swig, enjoying the warmth that spread throughout her abdomen.

She passed it to him. He took a sip and visibly shivered before passing it back.

"Don't like rum?" she asked as they exited to the dark, empty parking lot.

He put his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Bad memories." he admitted.

They walked across the park toward one of the shelters. Maci took another swig, relieved to note the butterflies were finally calming down. They called it liquid courage for good reason.

They sat on top of the picnic table, facing the baseball diamond. The temperature had dropped rapidly and fog descended over the field. It looked beautiful in a creepy way.

Maci took another swallow of the rum. "So what's up Holt? You havin a bad day?"

Sebastian looked over at her, brow furrowed. "No. It's been a pretty good day actually." He seemed confused.

"Thought you needed someone to talk to." She explained lamely. "Figured that's why you texted me."

The amused look returned. "I didn't realize you were my shrink." he teased. "I hope you take payment on a sliding scale. No health insurance at the moment."

She gave him a dirty look. "Well fuck me for trying to be a good friend." she grumbled, uncapping the rum again.

He snatched it from her and took a sip before she could. "I'm sick of talking about myself. I barely know anything about you. Let's talk about you for once."

His blue eyes looked curious, and the weird little smile on his face told her he was hiding something.

Maci rolled her eyes but giggled. "You are such a shitty liar. Your dad told you something about me and now you wanna be nosy."

His expression turned serious. "Why didn't you tell me about the adoption stuff? And being home-schooled?" He sounded offended.

She shifted awkwardly. "Well… what exactly do you want to know?" The butterflies had turned to apprehension in her belly.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just feel bad that I've been laying all my shit on you and didn't even consider the fact you might have your own troubles to deal with."

Sebastian didn't appear to notice the slight flair of her nostrils. "My own troubles?" she repeated.

He went on like she hadn't spoken. "I just want you to know that you can talk to me about stuff. I won't judge you or anything."

The words hit her in just the wrong way. "I'd say it's a little late for that." she said sharply, snatching the rum back from him.

He blinked. "Whoa now, wait a minute. You're pissed at me?" He was genuinely surprised.

She laughed humorlessly. "Well I don't know Sebastian. You're sitting here talking to me like I have a fatal illness just because I wasn't born in this country and didn't attend East Alton High. I don't need your fucking pity. Just because you grew up privileged doesn't mean you get to look down on everybody else."

She took another big drink of the rum, then capped it and tossed it on the picnic table before standing. "Take me home please."

He stood too and made the time out signal with his hands. "Hold up. I didn't realize talking about it would upset you this much. Ok? Just calm down."

Maci's eyes narrowed. "Did you seriously just tell me to calm down?" she sputtered in disbelief.

"I just meant-"

"Have you ever even _met_ a woman?" she interrupted sharply.

He was a deer caught in headlights, like it might be a trick question. "Um… I mean…"

"Of all the woman you've known, have you ever known a single one to calm down when they're upset because you fucking told them to _calm down_?"

"Maci please-"

"The answer to that of course, is _no_, you haven't. Because in the history of forever, that has worked exactly zero fucking times."

Sebastian blew out a breath and placed his interlocked hands behind his head. "I'm afraid to say _anything_ at this point."

"Then don't." she advised. "Fuck the ride. I'll walk." She took off toward the foggy baseball field, walking rapidly.

He was right on her heels. "Maci, it's dark and it's way too far to walk."

"Well I'm not going anywhere with you." she spat, knowing she was being unreasonable but beyond caring.

He made a sound of frustration and stopped his pursuit of her. She could hear him shouting expletives all the way back to his car.

She kept going, tears stinging her eyes because she'd been so excited just to spend time with him and now the night had gone so horribly wrong. She'd been beginning to think he might really be a cool guy. He was starting to finally get over that gross bitch who cheated on him. He was starting to show initiative at work. And then he had to go and casually bring up the one thing about herself she hated.

By the time she made it across the field to Anna Avenue, she was freezing and her canvas shoes were soaked from the grass. She was both annoyed and relieved to see he'd brought the car around and was leaning against it waiting on her.

"We don't have to talk to each other. Just let me take you home." He said evenly.

She nodded and let him open the door for her. The inside of the car was warm and smelled like him. She hated that it made her feel such comfort.

He got back behind the wheel and they headed in silence back to her place. When they reached the last stop sign before the trailer park, Sebastian stopped and put the car in park.

"Can I just say something?" he asked, turning towards her.

She sighed. "I thought you said we didn't have to talk to each other."

"Goddammit. Will you just let me apologize here?" He was beyond exasperated. "Obviously it's a sore subject for you. I get it. I fucked up."

"_A sore subject_?" She scoffed. "For a supposed computer genius you sure say dumb shit sometimes."

"Very insightful coming from a girl who makes coleslaw for a living."

That was a low blow. And it was right on target.

"Peace." she mumbled and opened the door of the Honda.

"At least let me take you to your front door!" he called after her.

She ignored him and concentrated on not bursting into tears as she trudged the one block home.

This time he didn't follow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chamber of The High Council, The Capital, Gallifrey**

The Castellan called the meeting to order.

"Since Chancellor Samaria requested this emergency meeting of the High Council, I suppose she should be the one to start." With a nod of deference toward Romana, he added, "With Madame President's approval, of course."

Approval was certainly not the word for what Romana was feeling at the moment. Clearly Samaria had learned something significant and intended to announce it here and now. Romana was both troubled and agitated that the Chancellor had bypassed meeting with her privately before putting the news before the Council. She gazed at Samaria warily but nodded. "Chancellor you have the floor."

Chancellor Samaria leaned forward in her seat and looked around the table, checking to be certain she had all twelve Council members' undivided attention. "I know there have been many rumors floated around the Capital. Rumors of an uprising." She paused dramatically. "Time Lords and Ladies, I'm afraid the rumors are true."

Councillor Tivon looked bored. "This isn't exactly a revelation. The Academy has been closed for weeks due to all the rioting." He tapped his index finger on the table. "It seems to me the uprising is already upon us."

Samaria glowered at the Councillor. "I believe _I_ have the floor Councillor Tivon." She gathered herself and went on. "As I'm sure you all know, in my position, I have operatives in place here inside the Capital and beyond." There was a glint in her eye that Romana really didn't care for. "And my operatives have learned that the Scendeles Chapter are in league with a secret society that's kept itself hidden for centuries."

Romana's eyes narrowed. "What is the nature of this _society_?" she prompted.

Chancellor Samaria gave her a smug little grin. "Why, they are what remains on Gallifrey of the Followers of Pythia."

There was a lot of chatter around the table at this news.

The Castellan spoke up. "Are you suggesting the Sisterhood of Karn are somehow involved in this?"

"Not their entire coven." Samaria assured them quickly. "But the impetus for the insurrection is in fact a single member of the Sisterhood, gone rogue. An ambassador to Gallifrey named Calanthia."

_Why did that name sound familiar_? Romana puzzled.

The Chancellor looked around the table once more. "Now this part may be a bit difficult to digest. As we are all science minded beings. But we also know of the Dark Times of ancient Gallifrey. Of the Pythia and her mysterious magic."

"Magic that died with the Last Pythia." Councillor Tivon cut in impatiently.

Chancellor Samaria turned on the Councillor with a knowing smirk. "And what if she wasn't? The _last_ Pythia, I mean?"

The chatter around the table grew so fervent, the Castellan had to raise his voice to be heard. "Let her finish!"

Samaria's eyes were intense. "If what my operatives tell me is true, the Pythia's daughter Soteria escaped Gallifrey with a Time Lord named Monaxi. They fled to a far away star system. An entirely different galaxy. A different time." She looked directly at Romana. "And Monaxi and Soteria had a child. A daughter they called Promise."

Romana felt ill. This couldn't be true. _Could it_? "So you're saying this _Calanthia_ knew about the child?"

"Calanthia learned of Promise in a prophecy. She had a vision. A vision she shared with the Followers of Pythia here on Gallifrey."

"So what you're _really_ saying is a bunch of superstitious lunatics are anticipating the second coming of their mythologized deity." Tivon scoffed and looked to Romana. "Madame President, can we be done with this nonsense?"

The usually composed Samaria, slammed her fist on the table, causing them all to jump. "_They have the child_." she hissed. Her certainty was palpable.

The room grew silent. It was the first time Romana had ever seen Councillor Tivon rendered speechless.

"Where?" Romana demanded, her voice sounding frightened to her own ears.

* * *

**Felix, 22 February 3020 AD**

"It's a museum." River breathed in disbelief. They stood just outside the entrance of the crumbling castle that had once been the Sanctuary of Soteria. Judging by the signage, it was now a tourist destination. "Clearly Monaxi is long gone. What do you suppose happened to him?"

The Doctor squinted at the ruins. "Based on the memory you shared with me, Monaxi was quite old back in the year 2080. It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that he may have died of natural causes. Even Time Lords come to an end eventually."

River was having a hard time buying that. "Surely he would have regenerated. He told you he was only in his third incarnation."

The Doctor stood with his arms crossed, looking miffed. She didn't much care for this moody side of the Eighth Doctor whom she'd always heard to be so effervescent and adventurous. Missing pieces of his memory obviously had his nose out of joint.

He sighed. "I suppose all we can do is pay the price of admission and see for ourselves." He gestured toward the door. "Ladies first."

River scowled but led the way. She could also do without his scornful formality.

They entered the small lobby area and approached the information desk. A pretty young woman wearing a red suit and matching lipstick smiled at them. "Welcome to Booth Castle!" Her excessively cheery disposition was like nails on a chalkboard to River.

"Two tickets please." the Doctor requested.

He purchased the tickets and when she handed them over, she asked, "Is this your first time visiting?"

The Doctor grinned for the first time all day. "In fact it is!" He eyed the name tag on her jacket. "Alydia, I'm the Doctor and this is my associate River. We're just doing a little sight-seeing today."

Was he _flirting_ with the girl? River side-eyed the Doctor. She'd always heard this Doctor was a bit more friendly with the ladies. She'd have to keep an eye on this one.

Alydia certainly seemed charmed. "Well I do hope you enjoy yourselves! Here are some brochures. The tour is self guided."

"Exactly how old is this place?" The Doctor was looking around the room critically. "The castle itself is clearly thousands of years old. The colonies were apparently settled here centuries ago. But your museum lobby appears to be relatively new. A recent remodel?"

"The museum has been open less than four years." River caught just a hint of reluctance in the young woman's voice. "Prior to that, the castle ruins were not... accessible to the public."

River's eyes narrowed. There was something about her choice of words. "And why exactly was that?"

Alydia had grown visibly more uncomfortable. "For centuries after the colonies were settled, the castle was part of a quarantine zone due to high levels of radiation found in the area." She was quick to offer reassurance. "It's perfectly safe here though. Six years ago, the quarantine was lifted."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Because the levels of radiation had receded?

The girl's brow furrowed. "Something about the radiation itself. It was unlike anything scientists had encountered." She shifted awkwardly, obviously way off script. "There were no ions or something?"

"Non ionizing radiation." The Doctor offered, looking thoughtful.

"Yes, that's it." Alydia agreed.

River glanced down at the brochure she was handed. _Booth Castle_ was printed in dramatic calligraphy at the top. Something tugged at her mind. "Why is it called Booth Castle?" she wondered.

Alydia fell back into her rehearsed script. "The Booth Brothers headed the first team of archaeologists to study the castle ruins. When specialists gave the all clear, many remained skeptical. Professor Charles Booth and his brother Dr. Olwen Booth were the first ones brave enough to enter."

River must have looked as stunned as she felt. "What is it?" the Doctor asked.

She turned her back on Alydia and whispered. "The Booth Brothers. Charles Booth was on the first research team sent to study the Aquarius Epta colony. He never returned. His brother Olwen was part of my rescue expedition. I watched him disappear right in front of my eyes when he was shot by one of Monaxi's androids." Her eyes widened. "Doctor. Does this mean Charles and Olwen are safe somewhere?"

The Doctor turned back to Alydia. "Whatever came of the Booth Brothers?"

Alydia shrugged. "As far as I know they are both living with their families in the Southern colony of Giannes."

A full body chill overcame her and she felt lightheaded. She had to lean against the information desk. The Doctor was at her side in an instant. "River why don't we sit down for a moment."

She didn't argue as he helped her to a nearby bench. "You've gone quite pale." He observed. "Are you alright?"

River scoffed. "Doctor don't you understand what this might mean?"

The Doctor's face was thoughtful. "You think that since your friends survived, since their fate was somehow changed…"

"What if every single passenger on board Aquarius Epta is safe and sound today. What if all the horrible things that happened on board that ship to those girls has somehow been erased?"

The Doctor's beautiful eyes didn't leave hers. "You're thinking of Cadence and Haven Barber."

"And their mother Leola." River nodded.

He stood. "We need to know what happened here. What event changed the history of this star system." He held out his hand and helped her up.

They took the winding stone staircase up to a large corridor lined on either side with glass display cases. The cases were filled with artifacts from the castle.

"Over 1000 artifacts are on display here." The Doctor was consulting the brochure. "Yet it seems all the so-called experts can't seem to crack the mystery of the place." He crumpled the brochure and threw it into a nearby bin. "As my good friend Winston Churchill always said, 'history is written by the victors.' There doesn't appear to be a victor in sight."

River examined the various objects in one of the cases. Tools. Dishes. Pieces of clothing and even some books. "One of the first things I learned as an archaeologist: If history is written by the victors, the losers' side of the story is found in the ruins. It's here Doctor. We just have to find it."

"Well I can see part of the problem the researchers may have had." he mused, tapping the glass. "Look closely at the books and other documents. They're all in Old High Gallifreyan."

Old High Gallifreyan. It was the lost language of the Time Lords. It was untranslatable- even by the translation circuits of a TARDIS.

Fortunately, River didn't need it translated. "You're right. This one here looks like some kind of diary." She squinted through the smudged glass. "This particular entry was written by a woman. Presumably Soteria."

The Doctor gave her a skeptical look.

River raised her eyebrows knowingly. "She's griping about her husband."

* * *

He was looking at her, confused but impressed despite himself. "Are you saying y_ou_ can read Old High Gallifreyan?"

River chuckled. "I'm a woman of many talents."

There were about a hundred questions that sprang immediately to mind. But there was no time for that now. He reached into the pocket of his coat and brought out his Sonic Screwdriver. "Then I suppose you'd better get reading." He aimed his Sonic at the case and pressed the button. There was a whirring sound followed by an audible click as the case unlocked.

River didn't hesitate. She opened the case and carefully extracted the ancient book from inside. "And what will _you_ be doing while I'm reading?" she wondered.

"Those high levels of radiation that Alydia spoke of. The radiation that kept everyone afraid of this place." He gestured dramatically with the Sonic. "I'd like to find the source."

She'd already settled herself onto a bench and turned her attention to the book. "Do shout if you run into trouble." she murmured, delicately turning a brittle page.

The Doctor sighed, deflated by her dismissive manner. "Right."

He scanned the room with the sonic but was unsurprised to find no trace of alpha or beta particles nor gamma rays. An unidentified type of radiation. Non-ionizing, therefore undetectable with a geiger counter. Scientists must have detected the frequency using more advanced instrumentation. And yet…

The Doctor looked up and down the corridor, puzzled. His Sonic didn't show any unusual energy readings on the electromagnetic spectrum. He smacked the device against the palm of his hand, wondering if it needed recalibrating.

If only he'd ignored River's insistence on bringing her ship to Felix. If he had the TARDIS here, he'd have access to…

He froze, as something occurred to him.

Monaxi had been a Time Lord. A Time Lord who had come to this star system, to the Humanian Era from ancient Gallifrey. He'd traveled in time and space to come here and build this sanctuary for his young wife. So what had happened to his TARDIS?

The Doctor swapped the Sonic for the Temporal Meter and switched it on. The meter began beeping immediately. The beeping increased as he moved toward a stone staircase leading up. The staircase was blocked by stanchions. The Doctor slipped past them and began to climb the stairs.

The scientists had detected an unrecognized energy signature on this site. Judging by the readings on his Temporal Meter, the Doctor now suspected that the unidentified radiation was in fact artron energy.

At the top of the stairs, the Doctor experienced the unsettling tingle of deja vu. He knew this place. This corridor. It gnawed at the edges of his conscious memory.

As if to confirm this, he suddenly heard an ancient, hollow voice whisper inside his head.

_You have stood upon the stone floor of this corridor before. _

He did a quick scan of his surroundings and saw no one else around. He shivered.

The Doctor noticed a closed wooden door off to his right. As he approached the door, the Temporal Meter was vibrating and flashing and emitting one long continuous beep. He switched it off and dropped it into his pocket.

The door creaked open on ancient hinges and the Doctor entered a chamber that was sparsely furnished with a bookshelf and a table with two chairs. He felt the prickle of deja vu once more and the voice came again.

_Surely you remember this room?_

He didn't. But something inside him recognized the voice as that of Monaxi.

"Monaxi." he spoke the name out loud.

There was no reply but just the same, he felt a sort of disturbance in the air around him. He reached for his sonic.

"My TARDIS is a Type 40 model." he said conversationally, holding the Sonic up to take a reading. "Considered by many to be obsolete." He chuckled, looking all around the room. "But _this_ TARDIS. What is this? A Type 12? It's positively a relic."

The Doctor felt rather than heard the hum that permeated the chamber. He didn't even bother to check his Sonic Screwdriver to confirm what he already knew. The chamber, the room in which he stood, was Monaxi's TARDIS.

He walked around, examining the walls, the furniture. None of it looked like it could be part of a crumbling castle. He listened carefully to the continuous background thrum- part machine, part alive. But it was the flavor of the air that convinced him more than his other senses. A metallic tinge that tasted to him like limitless potential.

"Hello there." His voice was reverent. "My, aren't you lovely for such an old thing."

The Architectural Configuration System glitched suddenly and the room around him seemed to flicker. At the same time a distinctive c_hirp _sound filled the chamber. The Doctor placed one hand against the wall and closed his eyes. He noticed a slight stutter in the background hum. A weariness. His smile faltered.

"You're dying." He looked up toward the ceiling with genuine sorrow. "You're dying of Dimensional Collapse."

Dimensional Collapse was repairable but if left unchecked for decades, for _centuries_, it was fatal. It often occurred when a TARDIS experienced severe trauma. Specifically, the sudden death of its operator.

It explained the high levels of radiation that humans had detected. They couldn't have possibly known that it was artron energy seeping out of the broken Dynamorphic Generators of a Type 12 TARDIS.

"What happened here?" the Doctor whispered, not really expecting an answer.

_They found us._

This time Monaxi's voice in his head sounded angry.

The Doctor felt his hearts skip a beat. "The Time Lords?" he guessed.

_Time Lords would have sent an army. We were killed by one man and one woman. They were commoners, cloaked in scarlet. _

He felt himself go cold as the entire room around him disappeared. As he found himself in an opulent bed chamber. A stunning woman sat brushing her raven hair in front of a vanity mirror. It wasn't just a projection, or a hologram. Dimensional Collapse caused the flow of time between the interior and exterior to break down. The Doctor was literally witnessing the past.

He watched helplessly as the figure of a blonde woman cloaked in red emerged from the shadows and crept up behind the brunette. Behind Soteria.

Soteria didn't see the woman behind her in the mirror. The Doctor realized it was because somehow, the blonde woman did not cast a reflection. She extracted an intricate knife from the folds of her cloak.

The Doctor winced and closed his eyes. He couldn't watch the blade being drawn across the raven haired beauty's throat. But he heard it. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing once more in the sparsely furnished chamber.

Monaxi's voice was now thick with grief and rage.

_Soteria's delicate throat was cut from behind. I was stabbed in the back. We were both murdered by cowards. Spineless monsters._

The Doctor felt dizzy and he righted himself using the back of a nearby chair. He realized he recognized the blonde as a member of the Sisterhood of Karn. Which would explain the cheap trick with the mirror. The Doctor sneered. If he'd never had reason to dislike that deranged, barbaric pack of women before, he certainly did now.

He could understand the threat Monaxi's family posed to the Time Lords. But what reason could the Sisterhood possibly have to eradicate the Last Pythia? To murder Promise's parents before she could even be born. Before he could continue the psychic chat with the echo of a long dead Time Lord inside a dying TARDIS, River Song burst into the room.

"Doctor what's taking you so long? It's a good job I put the book back and closed the case. Your little friend Alydia came upstairs to check on us." She crossed her arms, looking annoyed. "I convinced her that you were in the loo."

The Doctor blew out a defeated sigh. "They were murdered- gruesomely. Monaxi and Soteria." He gestured helplessly. "Somehow, someone found out about them here and decided to remove them from the timeline. It's what caused the paradox."

A look of horror came over River's face. "They killed the _baby_?"

He blinked. "There never was a baby." But even as he said it, he felt uncertain. Monaxi had said they were _both_ murdered. The _two_ of them. He'd assumed they'd been killed before-

"Soteria talked at great length about her pregnancy in her diary." River insisted sharply. "She wrote about the child's birth. About nursing and the lack of sleep." River looked stricken. "And then it just stopped."

"They took her." he breathed the words at the same time he heard Monaxi say them inside his head.

"You mean they took Promise after slaughtering her parents?" River looked mystified.

But the Doctor wasn't. And he knew where he needed to go next. He stormed out of the ancient TARDIS and back down the hallway toward the staircase with River in tow.

"Doctor what are you doing?"

"Heading back to your ship." he replied angrily, not slowing down.

"Don't we need to gather more information here? Where are we going?"

"I have all the information I need. And _we_ aren't going anywhere, once you've dropped me at my TARDIS."

River grabbed him by the arm and threw on the brakes. "Hold on just a moment. If you think you're going back in time to change things, you'll only complicate the paradox further."

He scowled at her. "I don't need the principles of time explained to me by an archaeologist." Before she could form a retort, he went on. "Anyway, I'm not going to this planet's past. I'm going to Karn."


	9. Chapter 9

**Holt's Deli- Alton, IL, 26 October 2019**

"Are you kidding me?" Sebastian sputtered

His dad shrugged. "You must have really pissed her off good. She's never called off work before now." Evan's expression was annoyed as he tied an apron around his waist. "So thanks for that."

Sebastian didn't need his dad guilting him. He already felt shitty enough. After their disastrous evening together Sunday night, Maci had managed to switch shifts with Tom and Cherrie all week to avoid working with Sebastian. And today she called in sick.

She was being impossible. Obviously he'd done an excellent job of putting his foot in his mouth but she had most definitely misconstrued what he'd been trying to tell her.

The shift seemed so much longer than usual. He was impatient with customers, easily frustrated by the tiniest difficulty and generally aggravated and restless.

At one point, his father cornered him in the walk-in cooler.

"Hey dude. Do you think maybe you could conjure up a smile or at least a neutral expression?" Evan Holt inquired. "That sour puss of yours is gonna scare off my customers."

Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Please don't call me 'dude'." he groaned, walking around his dad to exit the cooler.

Evan followed, now sounding amused. "Sorry _bro_."

Sebastian headed to the dish sink, attempting to ignore him. He grabbed the sprayer and started spraying down a large metal bowl.

"So are you ever going to tell me what happened?" his father pressed.

Sebastian scoffed. "She completely misinterpreted something I said. And now she's just being melodramatic."

He felt his dad watching him silently as he washed another dish. Evan Holt's scrutiny was so intense that Sebastian finally turned around and exclaimed, "_What_?"

His father's arms were crossed and he looked almost amazed. "I just never realized I'd raised such an insensitive prick. Wow."

"I tried to apologize!" Sebastian insisted, offended by his dad's assessment.

"I'll bet." his dad replied sarcastically, looking so disappointed, Sebastian started to doubt himself.

_Had he tried to apologize? Had he really?_

Sebastian dried his hands on his apron and grumbled. "I was going to apologize when I saw her again at work. But she hasn't exactly been here."

Evan Holt studied him for a moment. "I can't tell you what to do Baz. You're a grown man. But if I were you, I know what I'd do." And he turned and walked away.

His dad didn't talk to him for the rest of the shift and Sebastian was beginning to feel like the world's biggest douche. And he didn't have to ask his father what he'd do because he knew.

As soon as Tom arrived for the closing shift, Sebastian couldn't get out of there fast enough. He jumped in his car and headed straight for East Alton before he could talk himself out of it.

He hammered on her front door until she opened it.

Maci did not look impressed "Do you have a problem?"

"Well, since you won't answer my calls or my texts, I figured banging on your door was the only way to get your attention."

"Sebastian, I really don't need-"

"_I didn't mean to hurt you!"_ He blurted, surprising them both. He lowered his voice and said a bit more calmly, "I'm sorry, alright?"

She was staring at him with those big brown eyes, looking vulnerable for the first time since they'd met. "Alright." she said softly.

He felt something flutter in his chest.

Maci chewed her lip thoughtfully. "Is your dad pissed at me for calling in?"

Sebastian smirked. "No he's pissed at _me_ for running you off."

That got a smile. "I always did like your dad."

"Are you really sick?" he wondered, noticing the dark circles under her eyes and her unbrushed hair.

She looked away. "Just missing my mom a lot today." She fiddled with the chain lock on her door. "My birthday's next week. The day after Halloween. It will be my first birthday without her."

"I'm sorry." he said sincerely because what else could he say?

She shrugged. "Thanks for stopping by Sebastian." She turned to go in.

"Don't go." he said softly.

Maci gestured to her sweatpants and tshirt with bleach stains. "I'm in no condition for company."

He crossed his arms. "You know, someone very wise once told me it's no good to be alone in the dark."

She seemed to consider his words, then stood aside and gestured for him to come in.

The trailer was even smaller than he remembered, but also very homey. She plopped down on the sofa. "If you want coffee today, you'll have to get it yourself."

He saw that her spot on the couch was surrounded by pillows and blankets. There were empty dishes and soda cans within arm's reach. Like it was a nest she hadn't left for some time. He had been right. She was in a dark place.

Sebastian sat in the creaky green recliner across from her. "What are you reading?" he asked, indicating the book open over the arm of the sofa.

"Hernando del Pulgar," she replied, holding it up for his inspection.

He squinted at the cover. "Claros varones de Castilla." he read, mispronouncing it terribly.

She chuckled. "More or less."

"What, is that Spanish?"

She nodded. "Bright Men of Castile."

"So you speak Spanish?"

"Also Latin. I'm actually a bit more fluent in Latin."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "Maybe I should have been homeschooled."

She smirked. "You look surprised."

"I'm just impressed." he said honestly.

"Mom said I was always a little ahead of the game. I learned Latin when I was maybe 9."

He shook his head. "So you're like a damn genius."

Maci shrugged. "I've never been tested."

He looked at her and realized the enormous potential she had in a world that needed brilliant minds just like hers. Except, if he understood correctly, for all intents and purposes she didn't exist. So it was throwing away beer bottles and slicing turkey and a depressing little mobile home on the East side. He dared not voice his thoughts.

Instead he said, "Say something in Latin."

She cackled. "I'm not your trained monkey. You can't just tell me to speak a different language for your amusement."

He nodded. "Fair enough. But until I hear some Latin, I call bullshit."

She rolled her eyes. "Was work busy today?"

"Just a typical Saturday." He paused. "It really sucked though. You not being there."

A smile played at the corners of her mouth. "Yeah. Well, I guess it kinda sucked not working with you all week too."

It bothered Sebastian how good that made him feel. He was quiet, afraid to ruin everything again with the wrong words.

He wanted to tell her that just being in her presence made him happy. That he wished he'd met her when his life wasn't such a fucking mess so she could've seen him at his best. He wanted to say that her scarlet hair looked beautiful. All wild around her pale face. He wanted to. But he didn't. And the moment passed.

"So are you going to the Halloween party thing on Thursday?" she wondered, fidgeting with the ring in her nostril.

"Who's having a party?"

Maci scoffed like he was the dumbest person in the world for not knowing. "It's at Cherrie's dad's property out in Godfrey. There's a bonfire and a haunted hayride." She shrugged. "I go every year."

Sebastian eyed her curiously. "You don't strike me as the social butterfly type."

She grinned. "I'm not. But I friggin love Halloween."

_That smile_, he thought.

"I wasn't invited." he pointed out.

She waved a hand as if that wasn't even a consideration. "Everybody goes to Cherrie's Halloween party. Even grumpy old Tom." She made a face. "Although Tom gets a little pervy after he's had too many drinks."

Sebastian realized that Maci wanted him there. That she _wanted_ him to go.

"I'll have to check it out." he agreed quickly.

When he was leaving, she walked him to the door. On the last step, he turned and said, "So I'll see you tomorrow at work, right?"

She stood in the doorway, smiling her little half smile. "I'll have to tell Tom I want to switch my shift back."

"So old Tom's a sex pest when he's drunk huh?" Sebastian asked, mystified. He couldn't even picture it.

She giggled. "I've learned to steer clear at your dad's Christmas party too."

"Well, I'll be there to protect you Thursday night." he assured her. "I promise."

She raised an eyebrow at him and said fluently, "Non conteram promissum tuum." Then she closed the door.

Sebastian nearly tripped over the last step.

He may not have had a clue what the hell she'd just said to him, but one thing had become abundantly clear: he was falling hard for Maci Raines.

* * *

**Godfrey, IL 31 October 2019**

As usual, Cherrie picked her up and drove her to the party. Cherrie was a plain looking girl, heavy set with large glasses. She was a couple years older than Maci but still lived at home with her parents.

They parked near a barn then went around the back of the weathered farmhouse and joined the party already in action. Night had fallen and the air tasted of brittle leaves and burning logs. The piece of land was surrounded by woods. Down the hill toward the treeline, a fire roared in an enormous brick firepit.

Cherrie introduced Maci to her new boyfriend Frank and the two of them broke off to get a drink. Maci stuck her hands in the pockets of her coat and made her way across the yard thinking Frank was a bit of a dick.

Several of the guests were in costume but Maci hadn't wanted to look foolish in front of Sebastian since he wouldn't be in costume. _He's probably not even coming tonight_, she berated herself, feeling like a moron for trying too hard to look cute for a boy.

And then she spotted him. He was standing off to one side, people watching. He was wearing jeans and a sweater and looking incredibly handsome. Maci's heart skipped a beat.

She had to concentrate on not looking too pleased to see him as she headed in his direction. She had to concentrate on it even harder when he saw her and broke into a big smile.

_That smile_, she thought.

"Hey Mace!" he greeted, holding up a red solo cup. "Thirsty?"

She shook her head. "I think I'll pass on the booze tonight." She was remembering spiced rum and a foggy baseball diamond.

He chuckled, indicating his cup. "That's why I went with plain Pepsi. Alcohol doesn't seem to agree with us."

She laughed, feeling better just being around him. "So are you ready?" she challenged.

"For what?"

"The haunted hayride is starting soon!"

Sebastian groaned. "You really want to do that?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You refused to wear a costume tonight and now you would deny me a spooky hayride in the woods?"

His glacier blue eyes sparkled. "I wouldn't dare."

…

**2 hours later**

Sebastian took her hand to help her down off the back of the wagon. It was the first time they'd really touched and Maci felt a jolt to her senses.

"I have to say," Sebastian commented. "I wouldn't have taken you for a screamer. You nearly busted my eardrums every time something jumped out on the trail."

She beamed. "I think I peed a little."

He nodded as if this was to be expected. "Well that's how you know the night's going well."

She noticed he hadn't bothered letting go of her hand.

They headed for the enormous brick firepit surrounded by benches. Though there was seating for probably twenty, just now there was only one other couple. The rest of the hayriders had headed back to the bash happening up on the hill.

When they were seated, she studied Sebastian. The brooding, troubled man he'd been when he showed up in town was nowhere to be seen. The man holding her hand seemed confident and relaxed and most importantly, _happy_.

"So how are you doing?" she asked him, with a meaningful look.

He seemed to catch her meaning and looked a little uncomfortable. "Um, well you know. Better." He grew thoughtful. "I think my pride was hurt more than anything else. Losing my job definitely took me down a notch."

She was almost afraid to ask. "And how's the heart?"

His brow furrowed as if he was doing some soul searching. "I'm not sure I was ever really happy with Hannah. It was certainly never a very healthy relationship." Sebastian looked embarrassed. "I pursued her for pretty shallow reasons. And we fought all the time." He shrugged.

She nodded her understanding. "I get it. Sometimes we hang on longer than we should just because we've already invested the time. Knowing full well it's never gonna work."

He looked at her side-eyed. "You've never really told me anything about guys you've dated."

She shrugged. "I only ever really had one boyfriend. We were together for like 3 years." She picked a piece of lint off her dress. "Mom hated him and she was right to. He was a mean fucking drunk." She rolled her eyes, still disgusted remembering their time together.

Sebastian smirked. "He was a tattoo artist, wasn't he?"

_Oof._

She narrowed her eyes but her mouth twitched with poorly concealed amusement. "Fuck you."

He cracked up laughing and she joined in. The other couple had gone to join the party and Sebastian and Maci sat alone, enjoying the firepit in comfortable silence.

The night was cool and she was glad she'd worn her wool tights. She stared into the fire and breathed the crisp autumn air. The flames were mesmerizing. Dark orange and pale yellow. Snapping and crackling as the wood was consumed. Maci felt herself drifting, her vision blurring. There was another sound coming from the flames now. Almost like a muffled… chanting. But she was deep in some trance and it didn't seem all that strange. It grew louder and more clear. She wondered vaguely if Sebastian could hear them- the women's voices chanting.

_Sacred fire, sacred flame. _Those four words over and over again.

"Hey Mace, you alright?" Sebastian looked genuinely concerned. She shook her head vigorously and came back to herself.

"What?" she asked, a bit dazed.

"Where the hell did you go?" he laughed, still looking worried. "Do you feel okay?"

"Yeah. Of course. I was just zoning out a little." She pretended that the weird little moment hadn't freaked her out, but it had. She suddenly wanted to get as far away from the fire as they could.

"I'm cold." she told him, standing and tugging on his hand.

He stood immediately. "You ready to go home?" Maci was pleased to note the tinge of disappointment in his voice. She wasn't ready for the night to end either.

She felt oddly shy but decided to shoot her shot. "If you wanted to drive me home, we could watch a spooky movie at my place. I mean… if you want to."

His smile was answer enough. "Let's go."

…

They were halfway through Amityville horror, sitting side by side on her sofa, not touching each other. She felt like they were in a tense little standoff, neither one of them quite ready to make the first move. She ached to touch him but her stomach was doing that bullshit somersault thing again so here she sat with her hands in her lap, watching Ryan Reynolds gradually go insane on screen.

She heard a scratching noise at the back of the trailer and she turned in that direction. Sebastian looked too.

"What is that?" he wondered.

"Probably the one-eyed cat that's been hanging around here. I occasionally leave food out so he comes around begging at night." Even as she said it though, she inexplicably felt her heart beating faster.

Sebastian laughed. "Of course your stray cat would only have _one eye_."

They heard a second sound, like something scraping alongside the back of the trailer and she felt adrenaline flood her system.

_All the spooky stuff is just making you jumpy, _she told herself. _Chill out._

She forced herself to stand. "I'm gonna go check on Jeff."

He laughed again. "A one-eyed cat named Jeff. That's amazing."

She made her way through the dark hallway into the small laundry room and unlocked the back door.

For some reason, she thought of the flames again. The crackling, snapping firewood. The chanting…

_Quit being a chicken_.

She opened the door before she lost her nerve and looked all around. There were woods behind her mobile home and they looked especially ominous tonight. But she saw nothing and nobody. She sighed, wondering why she felt so relieved.

She turned back toward the laundry room and almost jumped out of her skin to find Sebastian standing right behind her.

"_Goddammit you scared the shit out of me_!" She shrieked before she could stop herself.

"I'm sorry." he said, pulling the door closed behind her. But he didn't look sorry. He was grinning his smartass grin and after closing the back door, he didn't move away from her. In fact he stepped closer into her personal space.

"How was Jeff?" he asked in a low voice, his hand reaching up and touching her hair gently.

She looked up into his impossibly blue eyes, all thoughts of flames, and chanting and spooky woods gone from her mind. "Jeff's doing fine. Just keeping an eye on things."

He chuckled, his fingertips caressing from her temple down to her jaw. His face was close, and his solid body was even closer. Her hands found their way to his defined chest and rested there.

Sebastian leaned in and kissed the side of her face, right near her ear. His strong arms encircled her and Maci felt her knees go all wobbly.

"It's after midnight. Happy birthday." he whispered right before putting his mouth against hers.

She slid her arms up around his neck and fell into it enthusiastically.

_Holy hell could this boy kiss_.

When the kiss ended, he pulled back a little and touched her hair again. "You smell so amazing. Your perfume drives me crazy."

Maci was all fired up. Her pulse racing, blood hot in her face. "Roses." she murmured, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "It's rose perfume. Now shut the hell up." She stood on her tiptoes and began kissing him again fervently.

Sebastian didn't appear to object. His hands held her face firmly as he pressed her against the dryer and the kiss became more and more intense. She found herself getting seriously turned on.

And then all at once, she felt tremendous pressure inside her head and an unpleasant buzzing in her ears as something in her mind seemed to untether. Panic set in as she felt her consciousness start to leave her body. Flashes of flame, of a roaring waterfall. She felt the edges of her mind scrambling to hold on, to stop itself floating away. It reached toward Sebastian. Called to him…

_Help me_!

He pulled away from their embrace abruptly, his eyes wide and confused. At the same time, the single 40 watt bulb hanging from the ceiling above them popped and the light went out. And everything snapped back into place. She felt herself go limp and he had to grab her and support her weight.

"What the hell just happened?" he was asking, sounding a little spooked.

She took a breath and regained her bearings. "I don't know." she lied. She was afraid she did know. But she didn't want to say it out loud and sound nuts.

He chuckled nervously. "Did we just cause a nuclear reaction with that kiss?"

"I think we did." she agreed with a phony laugh. She was thankful it was dark and he couldn't see her face. The pressure inside her head had gone but she still had the buzzing in her ears.

"Are you okay?" he wondered, his arm still around her.

"I'm feeling a little sick." she admitted.

This time he laughed for real. "That's how the ladies usually react after I work my magic."

She stood on tiptoe again and gave him a soft kiss. "I adore your magic." She whispered. "I just think I probably need to get some rest."

Sebastian gave her a little squeeze and asked. "Were we moving too fast for you?"

_You couldn't have gotten me in bed fast enough_, she thought, remembering how turned on she'd been.

But to him she said only, "Something like that."

After he'd gone, Maci lay in her bed unable to sleep for some time.

The night was quiet, but it wasn't a peaceful quiet. It was like the night was holding its breath. Waiting.


	10. Chapter 10

**The President's Inner Chambers, The Capital, Gallifrey**

Romana was pacing around her ornately decorated private office, her head still swimming from the revelations brought forward in the emergency session of the High Council.

She had been well and truly blindsided by Chancellor Samaria in the meeting. Inwardly, Romana seethed but outwardly, she maintained her composure. She'd called the meeting back to order and when everyone quieted down, she announced, "I assure all of you, we will thoroughly investigate the Chancellor's findings. We will put a stop to the unrest and those involved in any plots against Gallifrey will be arrested."

When they'd adjourned, Romana told the Castellan and the Chancellor they would hold a meeting of the inner council first thing in the morning. For now, the President of Gallifrey needed to think.

The allegations were certainly explosive. But could they be true? A surviving descendant of the Last Pythia being protected by members of some secret society?

As much as Romana had hated to admit it to herself, her first instinct was to confide in Wrayvius. She needed his meticulous mind to bounce her thoughts off of. She glanced at the time. Two hours since she'd messaged him and he still hadn't replied. Nor was he answering her calls. She stared down at her mobile communication device and frowned. It wasn't like him to be so unresponsive.

She made a sound of exasperation and pressed a button on top of her desk to call her personal assistant.

"Yes Madame President?"

"Ludwyn, I need to see Cardinal Wrayvius immediately. Can you please pinpoint his location in the Capital?"

"Erm… Madame President?" Ludwyn sounded confused.

Romana's patience was non-existent at this point. "Ludwyn, Can you please just do as I ask, and track down Cardinal Wrayvius please!"

"It's just that…well… Cardinal Wrayvius isn't in the Capital…"

The hesitation in her assistant's voice was causing anxiety to rise within her. "Where exactly is he then?"

"Cardinal Wrayvius is at… well, he's at Salyavin Point."

Romana scoffed. "The Detention Station? What in the name of Rasillon are you talking about? What business would he have there?"

"Madame President… the Cardinal was seized by the Chancellery Guard and placed under arrest two hours ago." Ludwyn sounded nervous. "I was told it was by your order..."

Romana went cold and when she tried to speak again, her voice had a tight, strangled quality. "That will be all Ludwyn." She ended the call and sat heavily in her chair.

If the Chancellery Guard had Wrayvius, this was Samaria's doing. Romana's eyes narrowed. And Ludwyn had been told it was by order of Madame President?

Perhaps the Chancellor had caught Wrayvius digging into her affairs? Perhaps he had even found something and the Chancellor decided to silence him.

Romana stood and rushed to lock her office door. She needed to see him immediately. If Samaria had caught Wrayvius nosing around, it was Romana who was responsible for setting him on the Chancellor's trail. She had all but given an order to the Cardinal.

Her face was grim as she grabbed her coat and walked purposefully toward the full length mirror on the North wall of her office. She placed her fingertips against a hidden panel and the mirrored glass opened out like a door.

She stepped through into her TARDIS.

* * *

**Salyavin Point Detention Station, Outer Wastelands, Gallifrey**

At first, it seemed as if they weren't even going to allow her to see Wrayvius. The guardsman at the intake desk was an unpleasant fellow called Keeris. He was quite insistent that Wrayvius was still in processing.

Romana, however, was having none of it.

"You would do well to mind who you're addressing." She commanded imperiously. "You might report to the Chancellor but the Chancellor reports to _me._"

He hesitated for a moment longer than she liked. She stared him down through narrowed eyes until at last he made a sound of resignation. He didn't quite dare defy her. He reluctantly spoke into the communication device clipped to his collar.

"Keeris to Pyserix."

There was a shot of static, followed by: "Go ahead Keeris."

Keeris was glaring at her as he spoke. "Madame President has asked that the Cardinal be brought to a private room. So that she may question him personally."

A pause on the other end. "Are you quite sure that-"

Keeris cut him off, a note of warning in his voice. "If the President gives an order, we obey."

Romana frowned as Keeris pulled an access card from a locked drawer in the intake desk. That exchange between Keeris and Pyserix had been odd. Something wasn't right.

She followed Keeris through the heavy iron door into a small, filthy corridor. Her nose wrinkled as she assessed her surroundings. "Not enough funding for a proper cleaning staff?" she muttered.

Keeris ignored her and led her to another heavy iron door. He swiped the access card across the reader on the wall and pulled the door open. Inside was a small square table and two chairs. It appeared to be an interrogation room and it was no cleaner than the rest of the place. Romana made an unimpressed sound. "I suppose this will have to do."

"Wait here." he grumbled dismissively and turned toward the door.

She sat down in one of the chairs and folded her hands in her lap, striving to stay outwardly cool.

_Something wasn't right._

Her anxiety was so high that she nearly jumped a foot out of her chair at the sound of the security door slamming shut behind Keeris when he exited.

Romana stared up at the cool gray door that was once more locked. It required an access card to open from the inside as well, which she did not currently have in her possession. She felt a shot of adrenaline. She was locked in.

_Had she walked into a trap?_

The words bounced around inside her head as she attempted to keep her breathing steady and her demeanor calm. She sat like that, staring at the door for forty minutes, breathing in and out, before Keeris finally returned.

To her surprise, he had indeed brought Wrayvius to her. He stumbled in, a bit unsteady with his ankles shackled, as well as his wrists. Romana felt a stab at her hearts as she took in his condition. He looked uncharacteristically disheveled, dressed in the customary gray prison garb. Bruises were already starting to blossom on his jaw and his lip was cut. Worse though, than the obvious rough treatment was his expression. Wrayvius always looked so confident. Now he just looked defeated. Her jaw clenched, and she drew herself up to full height.

"Are these restraints strictly necessary? Cardinal Wrayvius is hardly a hardened criminal."

Keeris sneered at that but just managed to keep his tone in the range of respectful. "Facility policy Madame President." He helped Wrayvius into the other chair then pointed to the clock on the wall. "You have a half hour."

When the door was locked behind him once more, Romana sprang from her chair and began to fuss over Wrayvius.

"Oh what have they done to you? Are you hurt?" She gently touched his bruised face.

Even with his limited range of motion, Wrayvius managed to take hold of her wrists, his eyes darting back to the door as if he feared getting caught at something.

"I'm alright. Please just sit." His voice was hollow, his demeanor so unsettling that she immediately did as she was told.

Her voice was an angry whisper. "What are they playing at? What have you been charged with?"

Wrayvius couldn't seem to meet her eyes. "Romana. Before we get into the details of my incarceration, I must tell you two things. Things that are very, very important for you to know."

She blinked. He was not acting like someone who had been wrongfully imprisoned. In fact, he was acting guilty as all hell. Before she could summon a reply, he continued.

"First, you need to know that your suspicions were correct. Samaria is no friend of yours. And she is indeed in league with an offworld faction."

Romana felt a rush of relief at his words. It was as she thought. Samaria _was_ the traitor.

She leaned forward. "Tell me what you've learned. With whom is she conspiring? With the right evidence, I can have you out of here by tea time."

A look of affectionate amusement flickered across his face but was replaced quickly by the sad, resigned expression he'd worn since he'd entered the interrogation room. "Samaria has been in communication with Endolyn. The Reverend Mother of the Sisterhood of Karn." He gestured helplessly. "Since we have opened diplomatic relations with Karn, she has broken no rules."

Romana grew thoughtful. "Perhaps they worked together devising her new conspiracy theory about the last Pythia." She scoffed. "It stands to reason. Samaria lacks the creativity to concoct such a story by herself."

Wrayvius looked pained. "So you know about that?"

She felt herself shift away from him slightly. "She called an emergency meeting of the High Council. I just came from there." Romana eyed him warily. "The question is, how do _you_ know about that?"

He smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "That conspiracy theory about the last Pythia, _isn't_ just a theory. It's a genuine conspiracy."

Romana's throat felt tight. "And how could you possibly know that?"

His voice grew so quiet, she had to strain to hear. "Because I am one of the conspirators."

It was a direct shot to the hearts. So painful, she wanted to curl up into a ball. Her stomach lurched and she tasted bile. "Oh Wrayvius," she groaned. "What have you done?"

He met her eyes at last. "When my sister Calanthia discovered the truth, I felt it was my duty to help her." His eyes were imploring. "I'd even convinced myself that we were on the side of good. That since Promise was the rightful heir, the rightful leader, everything we did to protect her was in the name of Gallifrey. For the good of our people." He reached as best he could across the table for her hand. "Romana. I never meant to harm you."

The picture was suddenly becoming all too clear to her, and at last, anger boiled to the surface. She shook him off. "You and your sister conspired to overthrow my administration. To overthrow _me_ and you have the audacity to say you never meant to harm me." She chuckled mirthlessly. "If you expect me to believe that now, you're a bigger fool even than I am."

His expression darkened. "You have no idea the things I have done. The sacrifices I have made." His voice broke. "The people I have _hurt_. All in the name of Promise." He clenched his jaw, and his voice softened. "But lying to you is the worst thing I've ever done."

Romana felt as if she was made of stone. "So Samaria learned of your involvement and had you arrested. Fair play. I suppose your sister hasn't been found yet."

"I told you before. My sister is dead. And that's the truth. Without the Elixir of Life readily available on Karn, she died of old age within just ten years. But before she died, I made a promise to her. To protect the child of Pythia's line at all costs until her 25th birthday when she comes into her power.

"How very noble of you." Romana's words were forged from steel. "So tell me. Who will protect the child when you've been put to death for treason?"

There was urgency in his voice once more. "Romana. I understand that because of our personal entanglement, you are hurt. You are angry. But you cannot possibly allow Endolyn anywhere near the last Pythia. We've spoken before about Gallifrey's shameful history. You agree that Rasillon's treatment of her people was despicable."

Romana glanced at the clock. "Our time is nearly up." She looked up at Wrayvius. The man she loved. The man who had betrayed her. "You said you had _two_ important things you needed to tell me. You've told me about Samaria's alliance with Endolyn. What was the second thing?"

A sad smile broke across his handsome face. "I'm not sure it's of any consequence. But my feelings for you were never a lie."

Stone faced, she stood just as the solid, iron door clanged open and Keeris appeared once more. "Take him away." She instructed. "I've heard quite enough."

But Keeris wasn't alone. Another member of the Chancellery Guard stepped into the room and immediately grabbed Romana by the wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed, resisting his grasp.

"Romanadvoratrelunda, you are being placed under arrest for conspiring with Wrayvius, a known traitor and threat to Gallifrey." The man clasped a restraint around her slender wrist before she could even register what was taking place. Everything was happening so fast that Romana could only stand there dazed as she was arrested.

"This is ludicrous." Wrayvius snapped as Keeris pulled him roughly to his feet. "She's your president! And she most certainly had nothing to do with any conspiracy."

"We know all about your secret meetings in the Cloisters." Keeris replied dismissively. "The Cloister Wraiths record and file any who might pose a threat to the Matrix. You should have been a bit more clever _Madame President_." He spoke the final two words as if they were vulgar.

At last she found her voice and she even managed to keep it from trembling. "I demand to speak with Chancellor Samaria at once."

Keeris scoffed. "You'll get your chance. You'll both be brought before the High Council for judgment tomorrow morning."


	11. Chapter 11

_**The TARDIS**_

River checked the energy level on her disintegrator gun then watched as he initiated the materialization sequence. "If you think I'm staying here on the TARDIS while you go and confront the Sisterhood of Karn by _yourself_, you really are an idiot." She reholstered the weapon and threw him a withering look

The Doctor straightened, eyes narrowed. "Idiot? Miss Song, the _only_ reason I allowed you to join me on this trip is so that I could keep an eye on you." He crossed his arms. "I couldn't permit you to run off into the universe with all of your potentially dangerous knowledge until I get to the bottom of this paradox."

She chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "_You_ permit _me_? And I thought your _Fifth_ incarnation was a self-important knob." She sighed and regarded him as one might regard a rather slow child. "Doctor, the reason you brought me along is the same reason you always bring a companion along on your adventures. Your ego requires an audience."

He regarded her coolly. "You may know some things about me. Perhaps you even know a bit about my people. But you have no idea what you are dealing with in the Sisterhood of Karn." The bastard was even more handsome when he smirked. "You fancy yourself such a compelling mystery but I do know that you are at least part human. And your fragile human mind doesn't stand a chance against the Sisterhood and their telepathic tricks."

River clenched her teeth and wondered momentarily if steam could actually pour out of one's ears. But before she could respond, her attention was taken by the display on the scanner. A smile played at the corners of her lips and she addressed him affectionately. "Tell me Sweetie: where exactly on Karn had you intended to land?"

He spun around to appraise the situation. The sight of all that arrogance draining from his face very nearly made up for the 'fragile human mind' remark.

The scanner's screen displayed their surroundings- near darkness with a slightly crimson tint to the visible light. No recognizable shapes appeared in the alien landscape. At first glance, one would be forgiven for not realizing that they had materialized underwater.

The Doctor recovered from his chagrin quickly and sprang back toward the controls. "It would appear we've landed beneath the Sea of Pythia." He was typing commands into the computer as he spoke. "Aha. About 6.2 kilometers beneath to be precise. So deep that the only source of light is the TARDIS." He pressed a button to further illuminate their exterior surroundings.

Fascinated, River squinted at the scanner screen. "The water looks almost red."

"All the soil and terrain on Karn are red in color. Why should the ocean floor be any different?" He grinned the way the Doctor always did when he encountered something interesting. "It's a shame we haven't the time to explore a bit. Ah well." He flipped three switches and pulled the dematerialization lever."

Nothing happened.

The Doctor made a sound of disgust. "For a time machine, your timing leaves something to be desired." He attempted the sequence again, muttering grumpily at his ship all the while. Still nothing.

River felt the unfamiliar sensation of panic tickling the edges of her mind. "What's happened? Have we lost power?"

The Doctor seemed to have forgotten for a moment that she was present. He indicated one of the gauges. "The Energy Distributor appears to be working just fine." He frowned. "It seems that the Dematerialization Circuit is malfunctioning."

"And why might that be?" River demanded, her voice an octave higher than normal.

His brow furrowed. "I suppose the positive gauge pressure from our current depth could be affecting the macromat field integrators."

"Are you telling me that we are nearly 4 miles under water_ and we can't dematerialize_?" Yes. Definitely panic.

The Doctor appeared more inconvenienced than worried. "It would take some time to run the Fault Locator and get a definitive diagnosis." He flicked a switch and when that did nothing, blew out an exasperated breath. "The Fast Return switch isn't working either."

_Four miles under water. Trapped._

Suddenly the TARDIS was rocked by some sort of impact, as if they'd been hit by a truck. The lights flickered and the cloister bell sounded ominously.

He grabbed the scanner control column and turned the periscope camera 180 degrees. An enormous crustacean-like lifeform filled the scanner's screen, its stalked eyes appeared to be staring right at them. The creature was a shade of dark red and nearly blended in with the ocean floor. Its clubbed front appendage struck out and smashed into the side of the TARDIS again.

This time the impact knocked them both to the floor. The cloister bell sounded once more.

"Doctor! What the hell is that thing?" River shouted from where she landed.

He was already pulling himself back up to the controls. "If I had to guess, I'd say something like a Stomatopoda of Earth." The Doctor quickly turned a knob and River recognized the distinctive sound of the ship's force field being activated.

River climbed to her feet and looked to the scanner, her heart thundering in her chest. Thankfully, the creature was being held at bay by the force field. It remained though, periodically hammering at the force field. "I'm an archaeologist, not a marine biologist." She pointed out breathlessly. "So I say again: _What the hell is that thing_?"

The Doctor was now studying the screen raptly, curiosity written all over his face. "Like I said. It shares many similarities with Stomatopoda- a Mantis Shrimp." He turned and aimed his annoyingly charming grin in her direction. "A rather _large_ Mantis Shrimp." He chuckled good naturedly.

She remained unamused. "If I have this right Doctor, we are trapped in a useless time capsule parked on the bottom of an ocean floor being stalked by a bloody jumbo _shrimp_ with no way to escape!?"

"You're such a pessimist Professor." he chided gently, already back to work at the controls. "I happen to have an excellent track record of escaping the inescapable."

Of course River knew that about the Doctor. And on most days she had complete faith in him. After all, she had seen him beat the monsters, outsmart the villains and rescue people in danger. Somehow, this knowledge did nothing to dull the edge of anxiety growing sharper within her every second.

_The weight of all that water pressing them to the ocean floor. Nobody would even know what happened to them._

She felt a cold chill and rubbed at her upper arms. "Is it me, or has the temperature in the console room dropped rather dramatically?"

The Doctor froze at the controls. "_The temperature in the console room_…" he whispered, his eyes growing wide. Seemingly alarmed at last, he began to tap at the keyboard rapidly, his eyes trained on the small screen.

"No." He groaned. "No no no no no!"

* * *

"Doctor?" River's voice reflected his own anxiety.

He sighed and met her eyes reluctantly. "It's the Life Support Systems. The pressure appears to be affecting the atmosphere sensors."

River blinked, her tone disbelief. "The… the _Life Support Systems_?" She wrapped her coat tightly around herself. "Wonderful. So, if we don't freeze to death first, we'll die of asphyxiation from lack of oxygen. This just gets better and better."

The professor had abandoned any semblance of bravado. She was genuinely afraid for the first time since he'd met her on Giannes. He got the feeling that fear didn't come easy to her. But he also figured she was too smart to accept any empty words of reassurance from him. So he kept quiet and began searching his mind for a solution.

_No way to dematerialize and the life support systems were failing. _So what could he possibly do to get them to safety? He could think of no way to shift them back into the vortex. And they couldn't very well snorkle their way to the surface.

"The air in here is getting thinner already." River gasped, followed by a small cough. "Do you have an ancillary oxygen supply on board anywhere?" She coughed again.

"No ancillary oxygen. Sorry." His tone was calm but she was right. The air _was_ getting thinner and soon their breaths wouldn't come so easily.

River was antsy, circling the control room, practically panting. "Of all the stupid ways to die. Trapped 4 miles beneath the sea." Her eyes were scanning the ceiling as if considering all the water between them and the surface. "Ridiculous!" She shouted (which started her coughing once more.)

He realized she was becoming a bit hysterical. He needed to think, needed to come up with a solution. But just now, she appeared to need him more.

The next time she paced past, the Doctor caught her by the wrist and pulled her against him, forcing her to stand still.

River struggled but he held on to the wrist firmly and encircled her shoulders with his other arm. "Professor Song. I'm aware that our situation is far from ideal but the more you panic, the more energy you expend. You must try and be still." He made his voice as soothing as possible but her irritated reply came as no surprise.

"_Be still?_" she spat. "When I need a yoga lesson, I'll let you know. " At least she'd stopped struggling.

He sighed and pressed his fingertips against the pulse at her wrist. "Your heart is racing." He whispered, his face near hers. "Your circulatory and respiratory systems are in overdrive. And that's okay. That's perfectly natural. It's your fight or flight response. But this room is about to run out of oxygen, and you need to make every breath count."

Her eyes finally met his and he saw that some of the panic had gone. She was making a concerted effort to slow her breathing. "That's right." He encouraged, helping her into his favorite reading chair. "Just be still." She sat back and closed her eyes.

_Good_.

The Doctor coughed and felt a jolt of anxiety. He didn't have the luxury of panicking though. He had to solve their problem and fast. He stared at the giant shrimp creature on the scanner screen, still slowly circling them. It was unable to do any damage to the TARDIS thanks to the force field.

A smile appeared on the Doctor's face. "_Damage to the TARDIS_." he whispered to himself. He hurried to the controls.

"Professor Song. I'm about to do something that might seem extraordinarily stupid. When I do, I need you not to panic."

She didn't open her eyes and her voice sounded relatively calm. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to turn off the force field and let our sizable friend here knock us around a bit."

Her eyes opened and narrowed. Her teeth were clenched when she inquired. "Might I ask why?"

He grinned at her. "The Failsafe switch! If the TARDIS is in danger of breaking up, the Failsafe system will lock on and proceed to the nearest habitable environment."

She sighed, resigned, then squeezed her eyes shut once more. "Do it."

The Doctor took a deep breath and disengaged the force field. He coughed some more and watched the scanner screen impatiently.

It didn't take long for their underwater admirer to realize they were unprotected. The impact of the first blow barely shook them at all.

The Doctor made a derisive sound. "Oh come now. Surely you can do better than that!"

That first blow must have just been a test swing because the next blow took him down to his knees. He grabbed the console to steady himself but didn't make it back to standing before the giant shrimp struck again. The Doctor ended up sprawled on the floor and looked over to find River had been spilled out of her chair as well. He crawled toward her and grabbed her hand as an even more violent impact rocked their world.

The Cloister bell began to sound. Over and over again.

River clung to him. "It's hurting her." she whispered. "The TARDIS. She can't take much more of this." Her respirations had become noticeably labored and she had grown pale. Even he had to admit: it was beginning to hurt to breathe. They had all but run out of oxygen. And worse, they had run out of time

_Come on Failsafe. What the hell was it waiting for?_

River squeezed his hand. "Before I lose consciousness…" she wheezed, her eyelids growing heavy. "I want you to know that sometimes... I really hate you."

The Doctor winced at the sight of her sad smile. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got you into any of this mess." He squeezed her hand back. "And I'm sorry I can't remember you from when we met before."

River's smile broadened and she looked up at him knowingly. "Oh. But I remember _you_."

"Flirting? We're dying and you're _flirting_?" He laughed then coughed and touched her face. Her eyes closed.

About that time, their attacker struck the side of the TARDIS once more. Right after the crash of impact, there was a worrisome _creaking_ sound all around them as if the chronoplasmic shell of the TARDIS had reached its limits and was about to crack.

And then. A groaning, stuttering sound as the Failsafe switch kicked in and just like that:

The TARDIS was rematerializing somewhere else!

The Doctor sat up and looked at the scanner. They were surrounded by silvery trees. On dry land. There was a whooshing sound as the atmospheric regulators pumped oxygen back into the console room and he gratefully took in a great big breath.

He shook River. "Professor Song. We made it!"

She blinked up at him. "What?"

"Look!" He laughed, helping her sit up. He pointed to the scanner. "Land ahoy."

River took a tentative breath and exhaled in relief. Then she seemed to gather herself

"I suppose you always get it right eventually." She remarked dryly, climbing to her feet.

He stood and tried to help her up. "Can you stand on your own?"

She scowled and shook him off. "Kindly stop treating me like I'm made of porcelain." She leaned against the console and casually picked some lint off her jacket.

He rolled his eyes at her manufactured nonchalance, then started a systems check to ensure that there was no serious damage from their underwater adventure.

"Where exactly on Karn did we end up this time?" River wondered, sounding slightly grumpy.

He consulted the Navigational Unit. "The outskirts of Moira Swamp. A little more than 2 kilometers from the cave system of the Sisterhood."

"And the TARDIS is okay now?" She was peering over his shoulder at the readout.

"Everything appears to be normal." Satisfied with the results of the systems check, he glanced back up at the scanner and saw a figure in a hooded red robe, standing motionless before the TARDIS. Waiting.

Even though the console room had warmed to a comfortable temperature, the Doctor shivered. "I think I preferred our odds against the jumbo shrimp." he murmured.

River unholstered her disintegrator gun and powered it on. "Friend of yours?" she inquired, gripping the weapon expertly.

He waved a disapproving hand at her as he walked toward the door. "Put the gun away. If she wants to harm us, it won't be of any use." His face was grim.

She was walking right beside him, gun still at the ready. "So you're just going to stroll right into a trap armed with a screwdriver and an abundance of condescension?"

The Doctor chuckled darkly. "Believe me. If it was a trap, we'd never see them coming." He opened the door manually and looked out.

As the hooded figure approached, the Doctor reached over and pushed the barrel of the disintegrator gun down and gave River a look. She sighed and reholstered it.

The Doctor cleared his throat and managed to sound conversational. "We weren't expecting a welcome party. Who might you be?" He stepped out onto the red ground of Karn.

The figure swept her hood back to reveal a thin faced woman with unkempt silver hair. She was of indeterminate age but her eyes were positively ancient. "I am Iolara. And you are very lucky to be here Timelord. Your coming was foretold. The Sisters worked an enchantment so the sea would swallow you." Her toothy grin was unsettling.

The Doctor frowned and glanced back at the still wet TARDIS, now damaged and dented from the creature. "So it wasn't my navigational skills that put us there." _And very nearly killed us. _He clenched his jaw to keep from speaking his thoughts. "Still practising teleportation I see."

Iolara's gaunt face grew serious. "You have come here to ask about the child." A statement, not a question.

The Doctor and River exchanged a look. "The child?" the Doctor prompted.

Iolara went on, her ancient eyes twinkling. "The revenant child of Soteria. Protected and hidden in space and time by reckless fools."

"They'd have to be." The Doctor agreed moodily. "Who but a fool would dare upend time like this?"

Iolara shrugged. "A renegade Sister and her Time Lord brother. Set on bringing back the power of Pythia."

River seemed to have found her voice at last. "Who does the child need protection from?"

For the first time, Iolara looked almost sad. "The Reverend Mother. Endolyn. She promised to destroy the Last Pythia before she can reach her powers." Her jaw clenched. "And I'm very much afraid she will soon have succeeded."

The Doctor took a step forward, feeling inexplicably protective. "You mean Endolyn has found her?"

The strange woman nodded almost imperceptibly. "Endolyn has gone to keep her promise. Gone to the planet Earth in the 21st century."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "Earth. The Last Pythia was hidden on _Earth_?"

River was already tugging him toward the TARDIS. "Doctor we have to find her before Endolyn gets to her."

The Doctor scoffed. "Among 8 billion people, how would we even know where to start?"

Iolara chuckled. "But you've already met her. You've _spoken_ to her. The girl with drawings on her flesh. Hair of scarlet." She started to back away.

His mind was racing. "Wait! What girl? I've met no such…" But then he remembered a sad young man by a waterfall. A visit to a deli. The fashionable young woman behind the counter with vibrant red hair. And tattoos.

And everything fell into place.

"_Her." _The TARDIS had been trying to tell him in her roundabout way. It hadn't really been about Sebastian at all. He turned to board his ship.

"Wait just a moment!" River insisted, eyeing the robed figure suspiciously. "Why the hell would you want to go against your high priestess and help this girl?"

The sadness returned to Iolara's face. "Soteria was my sister and enough of our blood has been shed." She turned and walked off without another word.


	12. Chapter 12

**Alton, IL, 1 November 2019**

_Help me._

Sebastian came awake gasping for air. He sat straight up, his heart thundering in his chest as he looked around wildly to find he was in his bed in his room. It took a few seconds before he fully understood that he was safe. That he wasn't in danger of burning to death.

He climbed unsteadily to his feet and headed to the bathroom. His reflection in the mirror was alarming. His face was ghostly pale. His hair and gray t shirt were soaked in sweat as if the blazing fire in his dream has somehow raised his body temperature.

He tried to wrap his mind around the dream. It hadn't played out like a narrative. It had been just a series of sights and sounds and smells. There was no reason for the fire, it was just _there_, surrounding him on all sides. Hot and violent and closing in. He'd heard a distant voice crying _help me. _

Sebastian licked his lips. He could still taste the smoke, the coal black smoke that obscured his vision. His entire being had been engulfed in the flames and the smoke and there had been nothing else. Except…

Except that just beneath the odor of acrid smoke and smoldering wood, he _had_ smelled something else. Roses. He had very distinctly smelled roses.

Inexplicably, this singular detail from the disturbing dream struck him as the most disturbing of all. But why?

His mind immediately flashed to a tiny laundry room in East Alton. Pressing Maci against her dryer and his lips against hers. The heat of her mouth, the smoothness of her skin and the scent of her rose perfume had made him feel more alive than he had in years.

But right when it ended, just before the lightbulb had blown out, he'd thought- no he'd been damn near _certain-_ he had heard her anguished voice cry out in his head.

_Help me._

So Sebastian grabbed the keys off his dresser.

And it didn't matter that it was just a dream and it didn't matter that it was 3 am and it didn't matter that he forgot his shoes and had to run barefoot through the cold dewy grass to his Honda.

He started the car and the engine must have caught but all Sebastian could hear was the sound of flames consuming all they touched. Roaring. Snapping. Sizzling. He left the subdivision in his dust and headed to the East side of town.

It was crazy what he was doing. Driving to Maci's home in the middle of the night just because he dreamed of a fire. It was just a bad dream. A nightmare.

He put his foot into the accelerator and kept telling himself that.

While he sat for what felt like an eternity at a red light at Broadway he thought about the waterfall in Tonty canyon. About how Maci had seen it in her dream. Had witnessed the mad man standing barefoot in the rain the night he'd nearly taken his own life. Sebastian had managed to push her freaky episode of clairvoyance out of his mind all these weeks. But here it was.

_Help me_.

He blew through the red light at St. Louis avenue.

By the time he reached her side of town, he saw the smoke. Actually _saw_ the smoke rising through the trees from the direction of her house and he couldn't fool himself anymore.

"Oh fuck." he gasped, fear ripping through his chest.

The trailer park was dark and quiet. Sebastian didn't see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles or hear any sirens. But when he rounded the last bend he saw without a doubt that Maci's mobile home was actually on fire.

_Maci._

He didn't even put the car in park. He shut it off and jumped out, allowing it to roll into the neighbor's mailbox. He ran, his heart in his throat, remembering how his dad had once told him that manufactured homes burnt up much quicker than site-built homes.

Sebastian realized pretty quickly that the area of the trailer surrounding the front door was fully engulfed and there was no way to get in through there.

He remembered the back door just off of the small laundry room and ran around to the other side. There were no steps beneath the door, just a few clumsily stacked cinder blocks. The door was locked but it was also cheap, old metal and after a few frantic yanks, it pulled open with a metallic _pop_. He climbed up and found himself standing in perfect, inky blackness.

The trailer was filled with that acrid, black smoke from his dream. Sebastian coughed and his eyes stung but he didn't stop. He crouched near the floor and crawled along the linoleum of the laundry room.

"_Maci! Maci are you ok_?"

Even over his shouting, he could plainly hear the fire consuming the living room and front bedroom off to his left. But he was also able to see a path down the hallway leading to Maci's room that had yet been touched by fire.

He made his way swiftly to the open door of her bedroom, feeling the heat of the flames so close behind.

"Maci! Maci are you in here?" The room was absolutely filled with smoke and he couldn't see a thing. He coughed and gagged and tripped and crawled his way to the bed. He reached out across the mattress and felt a foot. "Maci! Wake up!" He shook her vigorously.

The foot remained still.

He glanced back out the door and saw the flames had already overtaken the laundry room. Now there was no way out.

He pulled at Maci's foot violently. "You have to get up! Your house is on fire!" She didn't move.

He could feel himself getting dizzy from all the smoke he'd already breathed in. If he didn't get some air soon, he wouldn't be moving much either.

The first thing he did was close the bedroom door, then he felt his way along the wall to the huge bay window that took up the far wall. He coughed and retched and stumbled but eventually his fingertips felt the window pane.

The fire had suddenly grown louder outside the closed bedroom door, as if it were roaring to be let in.

Sebastian felt around with his foot and hooked onto the leg of a chair. _Perfect._

He picked up the chair and smashed it into the glass of the bay window. He felt cool air swirl in immediately, taking away some of the smoke. He coughed and continued breaking away the glass and aluminum grille of the window.

The air had cleared enough that he could just make out Maci's still form on the bed. He rushed over and scooped her up just as the door seemed to explode into flame. The cheap particle board of the door was easily engulfed as the night breeze fed the inferno.

He kicked away one last piece of aluminum and jumped out through the broken window.

They hit the ground hard but he managed to catch most of the impact and break her fall. The wind was knocked out of him but he still clambered up to his bare feet and dragged Maci clear of the burning mobile home.

When they were a safe distance away, he rolled her onto her back and examined her pale face, marked with black soot. He held a trembling finger under her nose and felt no breath from the nostrils.

"Come on. Mace." he coaxed, unwilling to believe she was gone. "You need to wake up."

Sebastian felt around her throat and was elated to feel a weak pulse. "See you're okay. You're alive. You're _alive_." He didn't know which one of them he was trying harder to convince.

He pinched her nose closed, clumsily covered her mouth with his and he breathed for her. He gave her one breath. Then a second. And on the third she started coughing, and then breathing on her own. But she didn't regain consciousness.

He held her limp hand in his, wondering how in the hell nobody had called the fire department or paramedics yet. His phone was at home on the nightstand. Hers was likely melted and mangled in the trailer that had already practically burnt itself out.

He looked around the eerily still trailer park. Where were some nosy ass neighbors when you needed them?

Maci suddenly stirred beside him and squeezed his hand. He felt a rush of relief. She was sitting up, blinking at the burnt out shell of her home.

"Hey. You're okay." His voice was shaky, his system thrumming with adrenaline.

She looked at him with red-rimmed brown eyes and croaked, "The good news is, now I don't have to worry about selling that fucking piece of shit."

Sebastian chuckled and shook his head. "I've never been more happy to hear your smart ass mouth." He enveloped her in a tight hug.

* * *

Maci was dazed, clinging to Sebastian in the darkness. The only thing she was sure of at the moment was that he had just saved her life. The rest was still a bit fuzzy.

They sat on the cold ground like that, holding each other wordlessly while she tried to make sense of the night's events.

_There had been a fire. Her mom's mobile home had apparently been on fire with her inside and she had almost burned to death. So how had Sebastian been here to pull her out? She remembered him leaving. Then she'd gone to bed..._

Before she could find her voice to ask, she caught movement in her peripheral vision- near the woods on the East side of the trailer park. Maci turned her head quickly in that direction but saw nothing amiss.

A twig snapped.

Maci extracted herself from Sebastian's arms, her heart a bass staccato in her ears.

"Maci? What are you doing?" He asked as she climbed unsteadily to her feet. She ignored him, her ears straining for further evidence of movement in the trees. Her senses felt heightened, her mind sharp.

_It was just the wind_, she told herself firmly.

"Maybe you should sit back down." Sebastian was saying, now standing beside her. "You were in bad shape when I found you."

She was still staring into the dark woods, remembering earlier when they were watching Amityville. How she'd gone to investigate the sounds coming from the back of her trailer.

And something in her knew: it hadn't been the wind then either.

The Dickerson's mean ass dog began to bark and Maci grabbed Sebastian's arm.

"Sebastian. We need to go."

"We can go to the neighbor's and call 911." he agreed, taking a step in the direction of the danger she somehow knew was close at hand.

She gripped his arm tightly. "No, we need to get away from this place _right fucking now_."

She yanked hard at his arm and took a couple steps backwards. He allowed himself to be tugged along for a moment before putting on the brakes, confused. "We need to wait here for the fire department and ambulance. Why would we leave?"

Her heart was in her throat, her voice tremulous. "Sebastian Holt if we don't leave this place right now, we are both going to die."

He looked her in the face and his brow furrowed as if he was troubled by what he saw there. Slowly, he nodded. "Alright. Let's go. My car's right over there."

Maci shook her head violently and pulled him in the other direction. "This way. _Run_."

And they were running, gripping each other by the hand. She led him behind the Thompson's wood shed, through the broken fence and across a small stream to enter the woods off to the West.

They made their way blindly through the unfamiliar woods. She didn't hear anyone in pursuit, but the threat was still palpable. Whoever had tried to kill her would almost certainly find them.

"Goddammit." Sebastian yelped, and stopped running.

"We can't stop!" she shouted, desperately pulling him by the hand. "It isn't safe!"

"Maci, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but nobody appears to be chasing us and I'm fuckin barefoot." He was breathless, trying in vain to examine his foot in the darkness. "I think I cut myself on something."

A fireball seemed to erupt from nowhere and the woods around them were suddenly engulfed in blinding flames. The flash of heat knocked them both backwards and they fell into a carpet of autumn leaves.

"Jesus Christ!" Sebastian cried out, sounding frightened at last. He pulled her to her feet and they turned in a circle, discovering that the fire surrounded them on all sides. They were standing in a small clearing, the brittle leaves beneath their feet already smoldering.

They were completely trapped.

Maci began to cry. "You're gonna die because of me."

Sebastian turned her around to face him, his hands on her shoulders. "What do you mean 'because of you'?" He asked. "I don't understand. Do you know why this is happening?"

"She's here because of me." Maci wailed. "She's come to destroy me." She didn't know where the words came from, but she knew they were true. She covered her mouth with a shaking hand. "_Oh my god_. I am so fucking sorry."

"And who exactly is _she_?" he demanded, his patience with her cryptic bullshit gone entirely.

Maci wish she knew.

Over the sound of the blazing inferno, a strange wheezing sound caught her ear, growing louder and louder.

Sebastian was looking all around them, eyes wild with fear. "What the hell is that noise?"

"I'm not sure." she admitted. But she was suddenly overcome with hope. Which made no sense. After all, here they were, in the woods, surrounded by…

Her vision was getting kinda weird. It was like, the burning woods were fading in and out, pulsing to the rhythm of that unearthly wheezing, groaning sound.

She blinked. Perhaps all the smoke she'd inhaled was causing her to hallucinate, but it seemed to her that as the woods faded, something else was solidifying. Their surroundings appeared to be _changing_.

"What the fuck_?_" Sebastian hissed, his arms flew around her protectively.

One minute, they were standing in the middle of the burning woods, on the verge of certain death, the next... Well. It was like they were standing in some dimly lit parlor with Victorian furniture, decorative rugs and bookshelves.

Only there was some very un-Victorian looking column structure in the center of the room and she realized they weren't alone any longer. There was a man and a woman standing on a platform near the bizarre console peering over at them. A large, glowing, glass tube ran vertically from the ceiling down through the center of the hexagonal table which was laden with complex looking controls, dials and computer components.

Sebastian had dropped his arms and was gaping at the man. "_You_." he breathed.

And that was when Maci realized that they knew him. It was the man who'd come into the deli weeks before. The man she'd dreamed about. The same man who'd been with Sebastian near that waterfall.

The man acknowledged Sebastian with a nod, then went to work pressing buttons and pulling levers and the room around them was suddenly flooded with that queer wheezing sound they'd just heard in the woods.

The woman had stepped down from the platform and was approaching. "Are either of you hurt?" She included both of them in the question but it was Maci she was staring at.

The woman was maybe 40 with a mane of wild curls and a beautiful face. She'd never seen her before in her life. Maci stammered, "I'm… I'm okay. I think?" She nodded toward Sebastian. "I think he cut his foot."

"Fuck my foot!" Sebastian exclaimed. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"

The strange man stepped down from the platform and regarded Sebastian disapprovingly. "Perhaps we can clean up the language in front of the ladies?"

"Who _are_ you?" Sebastian yelled.

The woman with curly hair sighed. "Doctor. Maybe now's not the time for an etiquette lesson." She rolled her eyes and gestured apologetically. "This is the Doctor and my name's River." She shot the Doctor a look of annoyance. "I'm sure the Doctor was just about to explain that we're here to help."

Maci realized that the man called the Doctor was eying her curiously, a small smile on his handsome face. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Maci Raines."

"Don't be afraid Maci Raines," he told her. "I won't let anyone harm you."

After all the implausible bullshit she'd experienced tonight, the fact that she believed him didn't seem all that strange.

He turned his attention to Sebastian. "It's good to see you Sebastian. Though it's a shame we're always meeting under such unpleasant circumstances."

Sebastian looked like he was staring a ghost in the face. "How are you here? Why do you keep popping in and out of my life?"

The Doctor cleared his throat and exchanged a meaningful look with his companion. "Maybe we should all sit down. Have some tea, catch our breath. And then we can discuss-"

"Jesus basket weaving Christ! Would you just tell us what's going on!" Maci snapped, surprising even herself.

The woman named River chuckled and the Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Alright then." he conceded. "I'll summarize. Maci, this might come as a surprise, but you come from a… a _powerful_ family and your very existence has been kept secret for many years. But now the secret's out and there are those who want you dead."

Maci felt Sebastian's hand close around hers and she was grateful. "You're talking about my birth family? In Russia?"

River raised an eyebrow. "Maci sweetie, I'm afraid you were born a _bit _further away than Russia."


	13. Chapter 13

**Salyavin Point Detention Station, Outer Wastelands, Gallifrey**

It was lights out at the detention facility but Romana wasn't sleeping. She sat on the edge of the cot that was pushed up against one mouldering wall of her cell. The cot was ancient and smelled funny and was about as comfortable as a bed carved from marble. Comfort was irrelevant of course. She wouldn't be sleeping even if this were a luxurious feather bed. Her mind was reeling. _How had she let this happen_?

Not only had she demolished her own reputation for integrity (right along with her political career) she had potentially compromised the stability of Gallifreyan society with her recklessness. For what? For some ridiculous clandestine affair with an admitted _traitor_ linked to a radical group? For Romana, who had always been so level-headed and rarely ruled by her emotions, the fallout was devastating.

Romana made a sound of frustration and stood to pace the 6x8 cell, her lithe figure clad in a gray, shapeless jumpsuit. She was so disappointed in herself, the fact she had committed no crime and hadn't actually taken part in any conspiracy seemed beside the point.

The impeachment hearing had begun this morning, a thoroughly humiliating ordeal witnessed by every member of the High Council. Romana had stood before her own inner council and listened to the Castellan address her alleged crimes while Chancellor Samaria stood by, seemingly unable to conceal her smirk of satisfaction.

"Romanadvoratrelundar, you stand accused of Treason." The elderly Castellan peered at her over his rimless spectacles, his grave expression revealing none of his personal thoughts on the matter. "As President of the Supreme Council of Gallifrey and All Her Dominions, Holder of the Wisdom of Rassilon, Preserver of the Matrix, and Guardian of the Legacy of Omega, you cannot be put on trial for these accusations. Therefore, an impeachment investigation is to be conducted. This investigation will determine if enough evidence exists to depose you so that justice can be done."

Also present for her disgrace had been Wrayvius himself, still in Chancellory Guard custody. He sat silently in the enclosed prisoner's dock, eyes downcast. An information card on the outside of the box displayed the prisoner's identifying details including name, Chapterhouse and pending case numbers. It was when Romana's eyes had lit on this card that the last pieces had fallen into place for her and she fully understood how foolish she had been. Cardinal Wrayvius of the Scendeles Chapter. The Scendeles Chapter- a house with a history of radicalism. A house with direct blood ties to the last Pythia's followers.

He had been right there in front of her this whole time: the identity of the infiltrator they'd all been seeking. It hadn't been the tediously ambitious Samaria after all. One thing Romana had learned from her travels with the Doctor was that the most dangerous enemy of all was seldom an obvious adversary. The most dangerous enemy was the one who disguised himself as your ally. Someone who confidently flattered and pursued you and eventually won you over. Someone who successfully gained unique access to you. Someone whose council you sought. Someone you took for a friend.

Wrayvius had avoided her eyes as he made his way from the dock to stand before the High Council for questioning. Romana wondered what sort of promises Chancellor Samaria had made to him in hopes of securing his testimony against Romana. But if Samaria had hoped he would provide any damning allegations, she was disappointed. Instead, he was honest and insisted she had nothing to do with his involvement in the Pythia conspiracy.

Clearly agitated by his unwavering insistence on Romana's innocence, the Chancellor questioned him relentlessly for forty minutes, trying to trip him up on the details, playing pedantic word games. When that failed, she did what she could to get him to admit to what went on during their private meetings. Romana found a small measure of comfort in the fact that Wrayvius outright refused to provide the particulars of their intimate encounters. It certainly wasn't for lack of trying on the Chancellor's part.

"Cardinal Wravyius," (Romana could practically hear the air quotes around the title when Samaria addressed him), "please describe for the High Council the _nature_ of your relationship with the Lady President, Romanadvoratrelundar." The Chancellor crossed her arms and stared him down, daring him to try to wriggle out of the question.

Wravyvius had returned Chancellor Samaria's stare, his dark eyes smouldering. Visibly angry, he still managed to keep his tone light. "You dishonor yourself and the distinction of your title with this _witch hunt _Samaria." The Chancellor reddened at his casual abandonment of said title. He continued. "I am willing to stand before this Council and speak the truth about my crimes. What I will _not_ do is indulge your petty attempts to demean Madame President." His eyes had cut to Romana then and she'd quickly averted hers.

Chancellor Samaria was unchastened by the rebuke. "So you have no misgivings about _overthrowing_ our President but you draw the line at embarrassing her." she had sneered. "Guards! Take him away."

The hearing had wrapped up shortly thereafter and Romana had been returned to her cell. The High Council would meet tomorrow to decide her fate.

Romana leaned her weight against the filthy wall and peered through the darkness to the cold steel door that kept her locked away from the world. Her cage was windowless, poorly lit and damp. Quite a change from the opulence of her inner chambers.

She thought about the Doctor and the mission he must still be on: somewhere out there in the universe, trying to put time right. And here she stood in a hell of her own making; a predicament from which even the Doctor would be unable to to rescue her. She thought about him learning of her disgrace and wondered if he would be as disappointed in her as she was in herself.

At long last, she lay down on her cot, thinking that perhaps, she was where she deserved to be.


	14. Chapter 14

**Onboard the TARDIS**

They stood facing one another in the corridor, just outside the Medical Bay where Sebastian and Maci awaited their return.

"Look, all I'm saying is there's no reason to throw everything at her at once." The Doctor had pulled out his _I'm being perfectly reasonable_ voice. River despised that voice when any of his incarnations used it.

"No. What you are saying is, you're going to _lie _to that poor girl in there and you want me to play along!" She made a sound of frustration. "She is in some very real danger and unless I'm mistaken, may soon discover she has some fearsome psychic abilities." He shushed her so she whispered fiercely. "She deserves the whole truth!"

The Doctor pointed a finger at the Med Bay door. "And you think she's in any way capable of dealing with the whole truth?" He scoffed. "We're just now getting to the bit about traveling in time and space and it's bigger on the inside. Let's not overwhelm her."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared. "Your reluctance to show all your cards...This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that she might have a claim as ruler of Gallifrey, would it?" Her eyes narrowed. "I can see how that might be awkward… Romana being such a close friend and all."

His expression didn't change but she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch and recognized it as a sign of the oncoming storm.

_Probably shouldn't have said that_.

His voice was hard."Yes, Romana _is_ my friend and of course I intend to ensure her safety in all this. But do you actually think I would ever involve myself in the petty power struggles of my home planet?" His smile was frosty. "If you really believe _that_, then you don't know me at all, Professor Song."

His words were damning, his eyes even more so. She broke eye contact. "No, I don't believe that."

He softened, cleared his throat. "We are treading on some rather perilous ground here. You'll forgive me if I prefer to proceed with an abundance of caution."

She nodded her agreement, still not comfortable with hiding the truth of Maci's heritage. "We'll take it slow then."

They entered the room to find Sebastian sitting on the edge of the examination table. He was peering at the sole of his right foot, looking confused. Maci sat on a bench nearby with an inscrutable expression.

River eyed them curiously. The clean cut young man was certainly nice-looking enough, downright fit even. But he seemed an odd match for the more unconventional Maci. She had vibrant crimson hair, her arms and shoulders were covered in colorful tattoos and she had piercings in her face. Sebastian looked like a conservative prep school graduate. Maci was more punk rock.

River joined her on the bench as the Doctor greeted Sebastian.

"How's the foot?" the Doctor inquired, his tone jovial.

Sebastian sounded thunderstruck. "I don't know what kind of medicine that was, but it's healed already." He looked up at the Doctor, bewildered. "There was a cut here. You can see the blood on the floor. It's just a faint pink line now. Didn't even need stitches."

The Doctor grinned and patted Sebastian on the back. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He gestured toward Maci. "And a good night's rest would do you both a world of good. I know it's all a lot to take in."

"You haven't even explained anything!" Maci blurted, looking exasperated. "What the fuck is happening here? _Who_ is trying to kill me? And what the fuck do you two have to do with it?"

Sebastian, whose earlier hostility had evaporated now that his foot felt better, cut in sotto voce. "Maybe don't swear at the nice time traveling alien who saved our lives, huh Mace?"

River couldn't help but chuckle at this. Maci turned accusing brown eyes in her direction. "You think this is _funny_? You think the fact that my home burned to the ground with me asleep inside is amusing? I barely got out of there alive!"

This was news to River. "No Maci. I don't find that funny at all." She looked the girl over from head to toe for injuries. She wore grey pajamas and was barefoot like Sebastian. But aside from some soot smudged across her jaw and forehead, she didn't have a mark on her. "How did you manage to make it out?" River wondered, thinking she'd like to have a word with Endolyn, that mad arsonist.

Maci's voice softened noticeably. "Sebastian saved me." She looked over at him, suddenly shy. "He pulled me out just in time."

The Doctor seemed to reappraise Sebastian, impressed. "Lucky for her you woke up when you did. Did you smell the smoke?"

Sebastian looked caught off guard. "I wasn't... I mean..." He stammered a bit more before ultimately answering. "Yeah, I guess I smelled the smoke."

Maci's eyes narrowed. "But you left before I went to bed. I thought you went home." Apparently the two hadn't had this conversation yet.

Sebastian shifted, looking uncomfortable. "I left my phone and came back for it."

Maci raised a skeptical eyebrow."At 4:00 in the morning? It couldn't wait?"

The Doctor interrupted, like maybe he didn't care for the direction the conversation had taken. "It's been a strange and traumatic night. And I know both of you want some answers." He shot River a furtive glance before diving in, his voice full of authority. "The fact of the matter is, the less you know, the safer you'll be. It's all very political in nature. Highly classified. But we were instructed to keep you safe, and that's exactly what we're going to do."

River blinked in disbelief at how fluently he lied.

Maci's big brown eyes were frightened, even as she tried to sound tough. "And how the hell do we know we can trust you? What are you two anyway? Mercenaries?"

River practically flinched at the word _trust_ but placed a comforting arm around the girl's shoulders and expertly reinforced the lie. "We are agents with the Shadow Proclamation- the most elite intelligence force in the galaxy. Our organization is apolitical, anti-religious and completely neutral to any planetary alliances." She gave Maci her most charming grin. "That means we can't be bought."

"Now I have a question. If this is all about Maci, why the hell did you come to me first?" Sebastian was now on his feet, face to face with the Doctor. "I hadn't even met Maci yet when you appeared in the middle of that canyon. Why the hell did you come help me when I had nothing to do with any of this?"

There was a haunted look in the Doctor's eyes when he answered. "So you'd be around to protect her. To save her from that fire." River knew that this time, he was telling the truth.

* * *

The Doctor sat alone in the low lit library, his fingertips drumming absently on the surface of his mahogany and leather desk. Aside from the control room, it was his favorite room in the entire TARDIS. It was small, with only one pink silk covered wall taken up by the shelves that held his most treasured book collection. On the opposite wall was a fireplace with a great mirror overlooking its mantel.

"Oh here you are!" the Professor's voice, sounding annoyed, brought him out of his woolgathering.

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Here I am."

She looked around the room. "Never seen this room before." Her nose wrinkled. "A bit naff isn't it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "It's an exact replica of the library at Moody Mansion in Galveston, Texas.

River smirked. "Texas. I suppose that explains a lot."

"For your information I once stayed in Texas for a while in the early 1900s. William Moody happened to be a good friend of mine. A fine man and a philanthropist."

"With an incredibly ugly library." the Professor added, a wicked twinkle in her impossibly green eyes.

The Doctor had to laugh. "Just the same, there was always something I rather adored about it." He nodded toward the Edwardian oak drinks cart. "Help yourself to a drink if you'd like."

She grinned appreciatively and made her way to the cart. "Both Sebastian and Maci are asleep." She reached for the decanter of brandy and began to fill a snifter. "I left them for just a moment in the rec room and came back to find them both passed out on opposite ends of the sofa." She chuckled and placed the stopper atop the decanter. "I suppose that saved them from answering the loaded question: will you two be sharing a room?"

He smiled sadly. "They do appear to be in the early stages of their courtship."

Professor Song was holding two snifters full of brandy. She held one out to him.

He waved a hand. "None for me, thanks."

She sighed and set the glass firmly down in front of him. "Just drink. You look like you might need it." He looked up and saw her face and realized that she was worried about him. He gave in and took a small sip.

She pulled one of the Empire Revival armchairs over to sit across from him at the small desk. They sat there, not speaking, only the crackling of the logs in the fireplace daring to make a sound. After a time, River set down her brandy. "You outright lied to her. Why did you lie to her?" She didn't sound angry, just confused.

The Doctor took another sip. "In point of fact, _we_ lied to her."

"Alright why did _we_ lie to her? What exactly are you so afraid of?"

The Doctor's eyes scanned his favorite room. He took a larger drink and set the snifter back down. "It was haunted you know." He gestured around the room. "The actual library in Moody Mansion."

If his non sequitur threw her off, she certainly didn't show it. "So you decided you wanted a _haunted_, ugly library on the TARDIS." She shrugged. "Certainly sounds like you."

He chuckled but went on. "The original owner of the mansion was a greedy widow named Narcissa Willis. Her wealthy but frugal husband never would buy her a grand home like she felt she deserved. When he died, she went against his wishes and took the fortune he'd meant for their children to split and had the mansion built. She thought for certain they'd all return to Galveston to live with her in the grand estate." He paused to retrieve his brandy and drank the last of it in one gulp. "But they never came back. She had ten children, yet she lived out the rest of her life in that huge house all alone except for a single housekeeper."

River shifted in her seat, uncertain what to make of the story. "That's terribly sad."

The Doctor nodded. "It was a tragedy. And legend has it that the late Mrs. Willis still roams the halls of Moody Mansion, forever waiting for her children to come visit her. William Moody himself claimed to have seen her ghost now and again."

"Doctor, why are you telling me ghost stories. You don't believe in ghosts."

"I don't care for the way all this has unfolded." His brow furrowed. "I feel as though I'm being led along down a predetermined course. Like each step I take has been planned for me in advance."

River studied him. "You mean the fact that the TARDIS took you to save Sebastian, months before he'd ever met Maci."

"Which set him up to be her protector. Put him in the right place at exactly the right time to save her from Endolyn's fire." He shook his head. "Like it was meant to be."

"You're beginning to sound like somebody who believes in fate." she pointed out cynically.

He made a sound of derision. "The idea that everyone's life, everyone's story is prewritten and unalterable is a load of superstitious hogwash. As a Time Lord, I do happen to have a rather unique understanding of causality and continuity. And fate simply plays no part in the web of time."

She didn't respond to that.

He sighed. "I don't believe in fate, but I _do_ believe in ghosts. I see them all around me. Because every single person I meet hasn't even been born yet but has been dead for many years." He wasn't sure why he was telling her all this. He supposed it was the brandy. "Maci and Sebastian. Two absolutely lovely young people. Maybe falling in love, all shiny and new. But they're ghosts to me too. Sebastian should be dead. He was supposed to commit suicide on a rainy night in August because his heart was broken. And Maci should have burned alive while she slept on her 25th birthday."

The concern in River's face had grown. "Doctor, they're alive now because of you. Because you intervened and saved them both. You might have a unique understanding of time but you also have the unique ability to make a difference for the better. And that is a gift."

The Doctor stared down into his empty brandy snifter and muttered. "Or is it a curse?"


	15. Chapter 15

Sebastian woke to complete darkness from a nightmare about a forest on fire, a faceless predator and someone, somewhere screaming in pain. He sat up, heart racing, totally confused. Then he heard a slight hum and a dim light came on as if automatically. Gradually, he came to recognize his surroundings. The Doctor's "rec room". It was the same general idea as the family room in his dad's basement, though this one was much bigger at perhaps 20x20 feet. The tan sectional sofa cut the room in half facing the television. Behind the sofa was a pool table.

He and Maci had apparently fallen asleep on opposite ends of the long sofa, their feet tangled together. There was some stupid sitcom he vaguely recognized on the muted television. It was something so ordinary in the face of all this time travel and murder plot madness. He had the fleeting thought that the Doctor's cable bill must be astronomical.

He leaned over and brushed a lock of scarlet hair away from Maci's cheek. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully and he hated to disturb her, but he felt very alone- and yeah, he could admit it to himself- scared shitless. Sebastian hadn't even begun to fully process the absurdity of their current situation. The only sane thing he had to cling to was his bond with Maci. Maci Raines: the funny chick from the poor side of town with a genius IQ and a dozen tattoos. Maci Raines, with the smart ass mouth who apparently had a more mysterious backstory than even she had ever known.

He nudged her, his voice a stage whisper. "Hey Maci. Mace."

She stirred, uttered some gibberish in her sleep and shifted positions. She'd wiped away most of the soot from the house fire but a small smudge remained near her left ear. He rubbed at it with his thumb and she still didn't wake.

He sighed and said a bit softer. "I don't know what the fuck is happening to us. If I'm losing my mind or if this is all real. But whatever it is, I'm going to look out for you." He chewed his lip and thought about all the promises he'd made in his life that he hadn't kept. He didn't ever want to lie to Maci. He cleared his throat and mumbled. "At least, I'm going to try my best." Sebastian looked at her full lips and wanted to kiss them but didn't want to be any creepier than he already felt just watching her sleep.

A door opened and he sat up, adrenaline pumping. A soft voice called, "Someone awake?" It was River Song but since they'd barely met, this recognition didn't exactly put him at ease.

"Yeah, I'm up." He stood, glancing down at Maci to ensure she hadn't awoken.

The attractive stranger with curly hair and inscrutable green eyes stood in the doorway and gestured to the corridor with a nod of her head. "Care for a cup of tea?"

Sebastian shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. "I could go for some coffee."

River beckoned. "Come on then."

He managed to manufacture a measure of courage before following her out into the corridor, glancing back at Maci once more before leaving the rec room behind.

They seemed to walk forever, the appearance of the corridor unchanging- stark white with a pattern of round indentations in the walls on either side. They walked in silence until they reached a door that looked exactly like the half dozen other doors they passed along the way.

"The Cafe." River announced, opening the door and ushering him inside.

Lights came on automatically and Sebastian could see that, as she said, they'd entered a small cafe/break room area with an orange and gray color scheme. A short orange counter with stools stood to the right and Sebastian took a seat, feeling a bit dazed. River walked to the little gray kitchenette area and gathered a couple cups to fix their drinks.

"How do you like yours?" she inquired over the sound of the cups clinking together.

"Black's fine." he replied, watching her work. "The Doctor asleep?"

River scoffed like this was a silly question. "The Doctor? Sleep?" She smiled as she poured coffee in one of the mugs- coffee that had appeared, inexplicably ready to serve. "No. He's sitting up in his little haunted library trying to solve the problems of the universe." She finished her task off by plopping a tea bag into the other mug, then joining him at the counter.

Sebastian wrapped his hands around the mug of hot liquid she handed him, feeling edgy and suspicious but also incredibly curious. "So, the Doctor. You've worked together a long time?"

River was looking down at her mug when she replied with a smirk. "For ages."

Sebastian cleared his throat. "So all this strange shit is normal for you both then? Black market adoptions? Arson? Rescuing strangers? " He blew into his mug, just managing to hang onto his composure.

She chuckled, a pleasant throaty sound. "Strange is certainly a relative term where the Doctor and I are concerned." Her face grew serious. "I was glad to find you awake. I wanted to ask you- just between you and me- have you ever... noticed anything _strange_ about Maci?"

He sat up a little straighter on his stool, feeling immediately protective. "Strange? I mean, aside from her style, Maci's about as normal as a girl gets. She's a hard worker- she's been working two jobs. She's got an amazing sense of humor. She's ridiculously smart which I wouldn't call _strange_ exactly. More like _impressive_." He thought about their kiss, the light bulb blowing out. The dream that led him to pull her from the fire. He shrugged. "Nothing strange."

River seemed to be studying him. "And she's your girlfriend?"

He cleared his throat, feeling oddly shy to be discussing their relationship status with this mysterious person who'd suddenly appeared in both their lives. "I… I'm not… I mean, we're friends. Coworkers." He shrugged lamely. "We've been hanging out a little."

A lovely smile appeared on her face as she leaned over her steaming mug, now eager for the real tea. "You really fancy her, don't you?"

He blushed like some dumb kid and set the mug down a bit harder than necessary. "Look. I don't know whether this is some kind of nightmare I can't wake up from or maybe I'm dead and this is purgatory- which frankly makes just as much sense as anything most religions believe about the afterlife- but I'm just a guy who was hanging out with a friend and got caught up in something crazy. I didn't know anything about any of this. I don't believe for a second that Maci did either."

River didn't respond right away. She fished the tea bag out of her tea and set it down on the counter, taking her time about it. When she looked back up at him, there was something like concern in her eyes for the first time. "Sebastian, I wanted to say to you- before Maci wakes up. Before anything happens…"

Her reluctance to continue was palpable and a drawn-out moment passed in silence. It was a rather heavy silence, he thought, to be had between two complete strangers. At last she continued, "Whatever happens, never forget who Maci is to you. Her life is likely about to become quite complicated by the expectations of others. I know firsthand how easy it can be to lose your identity in the face of such influence. How easy it is to believe that you are who others want you to be." The concern had been replaced by something resembling pain and her voice became softer. "If you care for her, you must never let her forget who she really is."

He blinked, his mind working to decipher her cryptic emotional appeal. Sebastian cleared his throat. "You mean because she comes from some wealthy family?" He thought of Hannah Weaver and her entitled, impossible to please father and felt something like dread squeeze at his heart.

River's smile almost looked like pity. "Maci stands to inherit far more than gold or a castle. What I'm talking about is power."

His eyes narrowed. "So what are you trying to say? That the power will go to her head? That she'll be corrupted by it?" Even as his voice sounded dismissive, he felt that constricting ache of dread once more. He had nearly gotten crushed by a girl whose family wielded their influence like a weapon. Though he knew Maci Raines was nothing like Hannah Weaver, the lesson was far too fresh for him to so easily dismiss.

River seemed to study him while sipping from her mug. When she set it down on the table, she leaned forward and covered his hand with hers. "The Doctor would tell you that anyone is capable of greatness. That we all have the potential to be courageous and do what's right. And cynical as I am, most days I believe him." Her grip on Sebastian's hand tightened. "What _I'm_ telling you is that anyone is also capable of being led down a dark path. That anyone has the potential to become a monster."

* * *

_Her hands were slick with blood as she pressed them to the wound in his chest. Sebastian was saying something, smiling even, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Her heart was thumping much too loudly in her head, drowning him out, her ears nearly throbbing with each beat. Sebastian coughed and blood bubbled from his mouth. He was dying and-_

Maci sat up and sucked in air as if she'd stopped breathing in her sleep. As if she'd forgotten how. She gagged and coughed until she finally got her breath back. Her heart was still pounding, but fortunately it was no longer vibrating in her head, hurting her ears. She realized two things immediately. One, she'd only been dreaming. Two, she was alone.

Where the hell had Sebastian gone?

She left behind the silent recreation room and headed down the corridor in the direction she remembered coming from the night before.

The upsetting dream still clung to her, instead of gradually drifting off the way dreams usually do in the light of day. She could still feel the slick blood beneath her hands, still see the cool blue of Sebastian's eyes and how his smile had looked a little cocky even as he was dying.

Maci wasn't entirely certain she wasn't still dreaming as she made her way down the seemingly endless white corridor. It was like the corridors were shifting as she walked, for when she looked back, she saw nothing she recognized from before. Doors appeared to have moved. New adjoining hallways seemed to apparate from thin air. She leaned against one wall and tried taking some deep breaths to calm the panic taking hold. She took stock of her insane predicament.

On board some kind of labyrinthian spacecraft with two strangers, apparently hired to protect her from would-be assassins. She groaned and put her face in her hands. What even was her life?

She'd often wondered about her birth parents. In her mind's eye, she'd cast them as a stereotypical poverty stricken Russian couple. The woman with dark circles under her eyes, wearing an old-fashioned head kerchief. The man stone-faced, with a blonde beard and a black hat. Maci realized now that she had made them almost cartoon-like inside her head. Beaten down by the world, simple-minded, incompetent. As if by painting them as weak and foolish, she could more easily reconcile herself to the thought of them abandoning her.

She'd never imagined that she might have come from power or privilege. For now she chose to ignore the fact that she was also apparently from a different planet. For her sanity, she could only take one bit of crazy at a time.

Maci sighed and saw that the door directly across from her was cracked open a few feet. From where she stood, she saw a wall lined with bookshelves lit by flickering firelight. Like a library.

Something inside her shifted and she heard a man's voice, plain as day.

_It was haunted you know. The actual library in Moody Mansion. _

A shiver ran up her spine and she looked around her to see who was speaking. It had been clear and right up close, not the indistinct murmur of voices overheard from another room.

"Hello?" she called out, eyes still scanning the eerie white corridors.

She jumped nearly out of her skin when the door in front of her was suddenly wrenched open all the way and there stood the Doctor.

"Ah Maci. Up exploring I see." the Doctor observed with just the suggestion of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Hi." she replied awkwardly, studying his inscrutable expression. The guy was weird. There was no other word for it. He was nice to look at for sure but she felt slightly ill at ease in his presence. He was unsettling, though she couldn't say why. "I was looking for Sebastian." she offered, for the sake of something to say.

"I haven't seen him recently but I am glad to have gotten you alone." he stepped to the side and gestured for her to come in. "I'd like to talk to you."

Maci entered the dimly lit room and looked around. A library with an aesthetic that was somehow elegant and aggressively masculine at the same time. Pink silk wall coverings with mahogany and leather. Hardly seemed to suit the Doctor at all.

"It's a beautiful library." she lied.

He chuckled like he didn't quite believe her. "It's a replica of a real library in a place called Moody Mansion."

She felt surreal, knowing she'd never heard of any place called Moody Mansion before now but certain she had _heard_ the words spoken out loud in the corridor. By nobody apparently.

"It's haunted." she murmured, mostly to herself.

He gave her a peculiar look before settling himself in one of the silk covered chairs and gesturing for her to do the same. She saw there was a large, leather bound book open over one arm of his chair, as if she'd interrupted his reading. She gestured to it. "What are you reading?" she asked conversationally.

Instead of answering her casual question, the Doctor grabbed the book from the upholstered arm and closed it, tucking it beside him in the chair. "Just a little history." he replied, looking almost guilty, like she'd caught him reading a dirty magazine instead of some ancient book.

Now she was curious. "The history of what?" she persisted.

He paused before answering. "The history of my people. _Ancient_ history. Forgotten empires and fallen rulers." He shrugged nonchalantly.

_Something in that book is really bothering him_. She could see it as plain as day which was strange considering she didn't know him at all. But before she could comment, the Doctor decided to finally get down to the point.

"Maci, I wanted to talk to you… about Sebastian."

She sat up a little straighter, a bit taken aback. This wasn't what she'd expected. "What about him?"

His voice was gentle when he suggested, "I think we should take him home."

Maci hated that the thought of taking Sebastian home made her want to cry. "I think he's old enough to make his own decisions about staying or going." she protested stubbornly.

He sighed. "Look, I don't mean to frighten you, but the truth is, you're in a lot of danger. I fully intend to keep you out of harm's way. But I do think it would be irresponsible of me to needlessly drag someone else into this."

She felt like a selfish moron. He was right of course. She had dragged Sebastian along into her crazy problems, and in doing so, had endangered him. Images from her terrible dream invaded her mind: Sebastian smiling even as blood bubbled from his mouth, her futile attempts to stanch the bleeding from the wound on his chest.

"I'll talk to him." she said softly.

The Doctor nodded. "Good."

They were quiet for a moment and then she asked the question she'd had in her mind all along. "Doctor… why didn't my parents want me?"

He looked surprised and almost horrified by her words. "Oh Maci. No no no. You have it wrong." His eyes were kind. "Your parents always wanted you. They treasured you. You were taken from them." Anger flashed in his eyes when he concluded, "And they were murdered."

She was still trying to process this when River and Sebastian entered the library.

"You're awake." Sebastian sounded surprised to find her here.

She raised an eyebrow. "I was sleeping, not in a coma. Is it really so strange to find me awake?" She felt just the slightest tinge of jealousy seeing Sebastian walk in with River. She didn't beat herself up over it though. The woman was sex incarnate- from her wild mane of curls, to her full lips, to the way she walked. Maci felt like a clumsy little boy in her presence.

Sebastian pulled a chair over to sit near Maci. "Anyone ever tell you you're a smartass?"

She couldn't not smile. "I've heard rumors." She noticed the Doctor giving her a significant look and her smile faded. Clearly he wanted her to broach the subject of Sebastian going home right now. Reluctantly, she cleared her throat. Before she could speak, River cut in.

"So what's the plan?" she demanded, pulling up a chair to join them.

"Yeah that's kinda what I was wondering." Sebastian added, leaning forward expectantly.

When Maci didn't speak up, the Doctor shot her an annoyed look before clearing his throat and announcing, "I've thought of the perfect place to keep Maci safe while we solve this problem."

"Isn't she perfectly safe here on the TARDIS?" River challenged, looking skeptical.

"You know as well as I do that Endolyn is capable of tracking her on the TARDIS." the Doctor pointed out.

Maci felt the little hairs on the back of her neck standing on end._ Endolyn_. It was the first time she'd heard that name. So why the hell did it feel so familiar? River and the Doctor's argument snapped her out of herself.

"So what!?" River countered. "She can track us all she likes. She can't get in here."

The Doctor crossed his arms, his voice becoming stern. "I am not willing to risk it. Even the knowledge of her whereabouts could start a war at this point."

River made a derisive sound. "If Endolyn can really find her on the TARDIS, then virtually nowhere is safe."

The Doctor sat back in his chair and raised an eyebrow pompously. "I happen to know of a place."

"Where?" Maci butt in, hoping to end the argument.

The smile that lit his face then was stunning. (He really was very good looking) "A planet called Sepelero."

River's eyes were narrowed. "What's so special about this _Sepelero_?"

"Well, it's paradise, to start with. The inhabitable continent is like a large tropical island. The climate is perfect. There are natural hot springs and gorgeous beaches. The people there are peaceful. _And_ I happen to be friends with their leader."

"And your friend would be cool with us hiding out there?" Sebastian asked.

The Doctor shot Maci another one of his meaningful looks. "I believe Maci said something about wanting to speak to Sebastian alone." he remarked. Maci's heart sank as he stood and motioned for River to join him.

When they were gone, Maci sighed and turned toward Sebastian, regarding him earnestly. "Uh. So. I think it probably would be a lot safer for you. I mean... Since I'm the one that's supposed to be in danger, it's probably-"

"You want me to go home." Sebastian interrupted, looking a little pissed off.

"I don't _want_ you to go anywhere!" she insisted. "But the Doctor said-"

"Fuck the Doctor." Sebastian scoffed, standing up. "We don't know this guy. You think I'm just gonna walk away and leave you with two total strangers? No way." He stood in front of her and his expression softened. "Remember when you were showing off with your latin?"

Maci chuckled. "I remember you trying to get me to perform like a pet chimp."

"I went home and I googled what you said." Sebastian revealed with a smirk. "You told me not to break my promise. My promise to protect you."

She tried not to let him see how touched she was by his words. "I only meant for you to protect me from Tom the sex pest." she giggled.

He knelt down in front of her chair and playfully yanked a strand of her hair. "You should have been more specific. Now you're stuck with me."


	16. Chapter 16

**Salyavin Point Detention Station, Outer Wastelands, Gallifrey**

The President of Gallifrey was rudely awakened by the _clang _sound of her cell door opening. Though it was still night, her light turned on. She sat up and glared, bleary-eyed at her unexpected guest.

Chancellor Samaria.

Romana sat up a bit straighter and peered up at the Chancellor with contempt. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this middle of the night visit? Hoping to smother me in my sleep?"

Samaria closed the steel door and leaned against it, looking weary. "Given the company you've been keeping behind closed doors, perhaps your lack of trust is a bit misplaced."

Romana chuckled and scooted to sit on the edge of the cot. "How foolish of me. Why shouldn't I trust the woman who conspired behind my back to have me imprisoned and impeached?"

"The only conspiracy is the one between you and your radical friends. I have merely been acting in the best interests of Gallifrey." The Chancellor's smile was nauseatingly self-important. "Besides, if I were truly out to get you, I wouldn't be here now."

Romana's eyes narrowed. "Why _are_ you here now?"

Samaria sighed and made her way to the steel bench that was bolted to the floor. She studied the grimy seat with disgust, carefully spread her red cloak to cover the bench, then sat. "Your hearing is in a little under seven hours. Once you're impeached- and I assure you, you will be impeached- the High Council will move for a quick trial. And you will be found guilty of treason and executed." The Chancellor paused theatrically. "But it doesn't have to end that way."

A grin spread slowly across Romana's face and she squinted at Samaria in disbelief. "You need my help with something. There's no other possible reason you could be here." She laughed and shook her head. "Credit where credit's due: you sure have a lot of nerve."

Samaria scowled but didn't deny it. "Some new information has come to light. As you know, this child, this supposed Pythia, has been located. Naturally, an emissary was appointed to handle the matter. My sources tell me that before this emissary could complete her assignment, the girl escaped."

"An emissary was appointed to handle the matter." Romana repeated slowly. "That's an awful lot of words for 'sanctioned murder' Chancellor."

Samaria didn't even have the good grace to look ashamed. Instead she made a rather unsophisticated sound of frustration. "Don't you see what I'm offering you here? If you tell me where the girl has been taken, I will recommend a more lenient sentence. I'm trying to save your life."

At this, Romana laughed until tears came to her eyes. The look of bewilderment on the Chancellor's face was so comical, it only made her laugh harder.

"Have you gone mad?" Samaria hissed. "Do you really find the prospect of your own death so amusing?"

Romana wiped away her tears of mirth. "No Chancellor. What I find amusing is the audacity you have to come in here and pretend your motives are anything other than self-serving." Her eyes hardened. "You say you wouldn't be here now if you were out to get me? The truth is, you wouldn't be here now if you had any more appealing options."

Samaria sniffed. "I take it this means we have no deal."

"What makes you think I even have any idea where the girl is?" Romana scoffed. "Even if I really was party to some conspiracy, I've been in your custody for over twenty four hours."

The Chancellor rolled her eyes. "Save your breath. I already know you put this rescue mission into motion days ago."

Romana cocked an eyebrow. "Oh did I?"

Samaria produced a hand held device and turned it on. "I have a key operative at the Communications Tower who has instructions to keep a close eye on the vessel tracking records. As I'm sure you know, both Space Traffic Control and Temporal Control keep impeccable logs of each and every spacecraft and time capsule that enters our atmosphere. It just so happens the operative noticed a particularly interesting entry on this log from last week." She tapped at the screen a few times and pulled up the record in question before passing the device to Romana.

Genuinely curious, Romana peered at the small screen.

_** Ship Position: **__Citadel, Sector 2, Level 5 __**Vessel Type: **__TARDIS __**Vessel Designation:**__ Type 40 TT, Mark 1 __**Registry ID:**__ Unregistered __**Callsign:**__ Unknown __**Operator:**__ Unknown_

Samaria's grin was sly. "I don't need to tell you that Sector 2, Level 5 is the location of the President's Inner Chambers."

Romana looked at her, puzzled. "So I received a visit from the Doctor last week. What in the name of Rassilon does he have to do with any of this?"

Chancellor Samaria blinked. "Are you trying to tell me…?" For the first time since she'd entered the cell, Samaria seemed to experience some self doubt. "What exactly was discussed when you met with the Doctor?"

Romana smiled coldly and leaned forward on the cot. "Why don't _you_ tell _me_ since you seem to have all the answers."

The Chancellor's civilized facade slipped at last and she stood abruptly. "Just tell me where he's taken her!" Her bitter voice seemed to echo through the stone cell.

And then there was silence and in that silence everything fell into place for Romana.

She stood slowly, her hearts racing. "Do you mean to tell me it was _the Doctor _who helped the Pythia escape?"

Samaria's eyes blazed. "Don't play games with me! I'm no fool. _You_ sent him to protect her!"

And then something horridly wonderful began to happen within Romana. Hope began to bloom in the place that had housed only defeat and despair since this nightmare began. She had to take a deep breath to steel herself because hope wasn't meant for the weak or cowardly. Hope was dangerous and brutal- it was _hell_. But now that she knew the Doctor was involved, hope wasn't going anywhere.

She closed the space between them and stood just inches away from the Chancellor. Though Samaria stood taller, Romana's gaze was no less imperious. "You thought you could come in here and find out exactly where this girl, this _Promise_, is hidden. So you could run back to _Endolyn_ and point her in the right direction."

The Chancellor visibly flinched at the name of the Reverend Mother of Karn, but said nothing.

Romana continued. "I don't believe you've ever met the Doctor and I'm not entirely sure how much you know about him. But there are two very important things you ought to know." Romana reached up and began to adjust Samaria's collar, leaning in conspiratorially. "First, whichever side the Doctor's on, _that _is the side you want to be on. Because that's the winning side."

The Chancellor backed up and shoved her hands away but Romana followed until she'd backed her against the mouldering stone wall. "Second, if you _do_ succeed in having me killed to advance your pathetic little coup, you will forever be looking over your shoulder." Romana's eyes flashed dangerously. "Because I happen to be the Doctor's friend. And there is no safe place in this universe for anyone who harms one of his friends."


	17. Chapter 17

River followed him down the corridor in silence. When they reached the control room, she hung back in the doorway, watching him, her suspicion growing. The Doctor placed the leatherbound book he'd taken from the library into the drawer of a beautiful antique hutch, then turned his attention to the console.

Finally she spoke. "Doctor…"

He looked up from the controls, just as cheerful as you please. "Yes Professor?"

"This planet you're taking us to. Why there specifically?"

"It's just as I said. Sepelero is a lovely place!" The Doctor's expression was one of wide-eyed enthusiasm as he moved around the control panel flipping switches and consulting dials. "The most beautiful beaches I've ever set foot on. The sand is this unbelievable shade of silvery purple."

She eyed him warily. "What you told them about the TARDIS. About Endolyn being able to track Maci while onboard. That was rubbish wasn't it?"

He hesitated for just a second too long before replying dismissively, "Don't be silly." and pulling the dematerialization lever.

River stood across the console from him, one finger tapping the control panel impatiently. "Doctor…"

He looked up from the controls, his face half hidden from her by the time rotor as it moved rhythmically up and down. The only sound in the console room was the groaning, wheezing sound of the engines. Finally he sighed.

"It's already started." He said quietly.

"_What's_ started?" she demanded.

"Maci. Promise. Whatever you want to call her. The powers of the Pythia have already awakened in her."

River squinted at him. "What do you mean? How can you tell?"

"A lot of little things. When we were talking in the library, before you and Sebastian came in, I'm certain she was reading my thoughts."

"Okay." River allowed. "So maybe she's a little telepathic. So are you and I."

He nodded. "Then there's the fact that Sebastian somehow arrived just in time to save her life- a fact that even she was confused about. Then she was pulled from her burning home and had to run for her life through the woods in the dark of night. But somehow doesn't have a burn or scratch on her?"

River thought of the cut on Sebastian's foot. "She was barefoot just like Sebastian." She realized.

"About that..." the Doctor replied softly. "Do you happen to know of any topical medications that could heal a wound that quickly?"

She blinked. "No. But I'm also not a medical doctor. And this is the TARDIS. I just assumed that-"

"The only medicine that I gave to Sebastian for his foot was a tube of antibiotic ointment, along with a bandage."

She felt her heart skip a beat. "You can't mean…?"

"Maci cleaned the wound for him. She applied the ointment." The Doctor laughed humorlessly. "And suddenly, he didn't need the bandage."

River suddenly found the need to sit down. She sunk into one of his beautiful but uncomfortable chairs. "_Maci_ healed Sebastian's foot." In hindsight, it was painfully obvious.

The Doctor stood nearby, leaning with his back to the controls. "And _that_ is why we're taking her to Sepelero." he added, as if that explained everything.

Sometimes talking to him was so exhausting. She massaged her right temple with her fingertips. "What the hell does purple sand have to do with any of that?"

"It isn't about the sand. It's about the atmosphere." He leaned forward slightly, his eyes shining with excitement. "Sepelero is in the constellation of Vumiehr. Some rare combination of elements in Vumiehr's magnetosphere is known to actually suppress psionic energy."

She continued looking at him blankly, waiting for the punchline.

He sighed, clearly disappointed with her. "Well don't you see? If we go there, any psychic energy she has will be inactive. Psychic beings journey to Sepelero from all over the universe. To find peace from all the voices in their heads. Or just to take a break from outside interference. She won't have to cope with any alarming psychic abilities and Endolyn won't be able to track her. It's perfect."

It didn't sound all that perfect to River. "So your solution is to continue hiding the truth from her."

"I admit it's a short term solution." he sputtered.

"Do you really think you're easing any of that girl's burden by shielding her from reality? The only way we can help her is to _deal_ with the problem."

He stood up straight from the console, his face stone. "And I fully intend to deal with the problem- while keeping her out of it."

She actually laughed in disbelief. "_Keeping her out of it_? Whether you like it or not, she sort of _is_ it."

The Doctor scoffed. "And what would you have me do? Hand her over to the fanatics wishing to overthrow the citadel? Maybe give her directly to the Time Lords and let them deal with her?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You know that's not what I mean. But perhaps we might let her decide for herself what she can or can't handle."

"Oh I _see_." He sat down across from her, clearly amused. "You want _her_ to decide. Will you be the one to explain her two choices?" He held both hands out, palm up as if literally weighing the options. "She can side with the rebel faction who sees her as nothing more than a political pawn and risk being assassinated. _Or _she can walk away from it all, knowing that the Time Lords and Endolyn will forever see her very existence as a threat- and risk being hunted down and assassinated."

River stood up quickly, nearly knocking the chair over. _Oh how he could push her buttons_. "She deserves to know the truth about her parents! About her people. _Your_ people."

The Doctor looked very tired then. He slumped in his chair, as if all the fight had drained out of him. "I suppose I can't stop you if you're dead set on telling her everything. But I'd advise you to think it through." He looked River directly in the eye. "Because if you think Maci is burdened at present, try handing her the weight of her birthright."

His eyes burned with conviction, his gaze challenging her. Daring her to say he was wrong. And she realized she couldn't. She sat back down.

She realized the TARDIS had grown quiet. They had landed. "So I suppose we're on Sepelero." she sighed.

The Doctor shook his head. "We're on earth. Dropping Sebastian back home."

River squinted at him in confusion. "And what prompted all this?"

He sighed and seemed to examine his fingernails. "I see no point in complicating matters further by pulling a human into this mess." He sounded almost disdainful, as if Sebastian's presence was nothing more than a nuisance. But she knew him too well.

"Doctor, I've seen you pull humans into far worse than this without batting an eye. What's really going on?"

He shrugged and got to his feet as if it hardly mattered. "Maci agrees with me. She cares too much for him to put him in any further danger on her behalf." He moved to the console and consulted the navigation system. "If I have my coordinates correct, we're returning him home less than an hour after we rescued them in the woods."

River's nostrils flared. She wasn't sure what was more infuriating: The fact that he was talking about Sebastian with such cold detachment or the fact that he was clearly hiding something from her. She stood to confront him and that's when Maci and Sebastian entered the control room.

The Doctor turned to them cheerfully. "Perfect timing. Sebastian, I believe I've parked us right on the corner, less than a block from your house."

Sebastian approached the console, hands in pockets. "That's great and all. But I'm not going anywhere."

River just managed to suppress a smile as she slowly sank back in her chair to watch the show.

The Doctor looked to Maci, his voice brimming with disappointment. "I thought we were in agreement about this. For his safety."

Sebastian cut in before Maci could reply. "Your concern for my wellbeing is really touching Doctor. But with all due respect, I'm not leaving her alone with two complete strangers. No fuckin way." He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.

_Good for you_, River thought, suitably impressed.

The Doctor's eyes flashed in that dangerous way that River recognized only too well. "Do you really think you're in any way capable of protecting her? You haven't the slightest clue what you're dealing with." His voice was soft but there was no mistaking the ice in his tone.

If Sebastian was intimidated, he concealed it well. "Sounds super ominous bro. I'm still not leaving her here alone. And I find it kinda strange that my presence suddenly became such a problem for you." He stared daggers at the Time Lord. "What's changed?"

River raised her eyebrows and leaned forward. Excellent question.

Maci finally joined the conversation. "It was something in the book, wasn't it? The one you took with you when you left the library."

The Doctor had suddenly become very interested in the scanner screen. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he scoffed.

"But you do." Maci replied, sounding both surprised and certain. She stepped toward him, her expression bewildered. "Something in that book scared you. Something about the final ceremony?"

The color had drained from the Doctor's face, and for one extremely rare moment, he was rendered speechless.

River's hands gripped the arms of her chair. _Maci was reading the Doctor's mind_. She didn't seem to be aware of the fact, but both the Doctor and River certainly were. Despite her curiosity, River's first instinct was to protect him. She jumped up from her chair and stepped between them.

"It doesn't sound to me as if taking Sebastian home is an option." River told the Doctor firmly, her eyes demanding that he cooperate. "Clearly he's very protective of his friend. As he already demonstrated by walking into a burning building for her." She glanced back and saw that Maci was no longer part of the conversation. She was holding one hand to her head, looking dazed and a little ill. Sebastian noticed too.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" He touched her shoulder gently. "You look like you're ready to puke."

"I feel strange." Maci admitted, stumbling back a bit. Sebastian and River both grabbed her to keep her from falling over.

"It's likely just the aftereffects of smoke inhalation." the Doctor suggested, having regained his composure. "Carbon monoxide can cause dizziness and confusion. A little rest and fresh air, and you'll be good as new."

While Sebastian helped Maci to a chair, River's eyes locked with the Doctor's. "So I take it we're _all_ going to Sepelero then?"

He nodded grimly and stepped back to the controls. "Sepelero." he agreed. He used the Emergency Transceiver to hack into Sepelero's communications network and sent a carefully encrypted message to the leader, requesting asylum.

* * *

While they awaited a response, the TARDIS was placed in stealth mode, and they drifted undetectable near the furthest of Sepelero's three moons.

"What if she refuses?" Maci worried. She was still seated, still looking a little pale.

"Senovia owes me a favor." he told her simply. "Under ordinary circumstances, it's a debt I would never collect on. But desperate times and all that." The Doctor gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

He had been discreetly monitoring Maci. She seemed to have returned to normal again. No more troubling episodes since she'd recovered from her dizziness. He hoped his request would be granted sooner rather than later. They needed to get to Sepelero before her telepathy caused any real problems.

"So how exactly do you know this friend of yours?" River wondered, leaning on the console, directly across from him. "How do you know we can trust her?"

"Because I once saved her and her father's lives."

"Saved them from what?" Sebastian asked. He was walking all around the console, peering at every control and dial and screen. He looked like a kid in a candy store. As annoyed as the Doctor had been with the stubborn young man mere minutes earlier, he couldn't help but grin at his apparent enthusiasm for technology.

"A nasty civil war that went on for almost a century on their homeworld, Vhodren. A war her people lost."

"Your friend, this Senovia, is a _Vhodrali_?" River stood arms crossed, a look of unconcealed disdain on her face.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her, disapproving. "I take it we have some preconceived opinions on the matter."

She made a scornful noise. "It's hardly preconceived when I've not only studied their culture extensively, but have seen firsthand the damage left in their wake."

"So you know them personally? You've met every single Vhodrali and they're all exactly the same?"

River's nostrils flared but she returned his challenging gaze. "Have you met every single Dalek? Of course not. But I'll bet you feel fairly confident that _none of them_ are to be trusted."

"Wait, what's so bad about the 'Vhodrali'?" Maci asked, her eyes flickering from River to the Doctor and back again.

"And what the hell is a dah-lik?" Sebastian wanted to know.

"The planet Vhodren was home to a species of beings made up of two similar looking, but fundamentally different races. The Vhodreen and the Vhodrali." the Doctor began.

"The Vhodrali subjugated the Vhodreen from the very beginning." River cut in. "The society's entire infrastructure was built upon the backs of the Vhodreen slaves. This civil war the Doctor mentioned was in fact a revolution. After centuries of tyranny, the Vhodreen revolted and overthrew the Vhodrali government."

Now it was the Doctor's turn to scoff. "That's quite an oversimplified interpretation of history." He turned to Sebastian and Maci and gestured to the Professor. "See this is the trouble with archaeology. It's not an exact science. It relies too heavily on interpretation and reconstruction- both of which can vary greatly depending on bias." He knew he was provoking her, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

River's eyes narrowed. "Ah yes. I forgot. _You_ are the ultimate authority on interpreting history."

He shrugged. "I don't have to be. I was there. This heroic uprising you describe was in fact an onslaught of violent retribution that lasted for generations. Hundreds of thousands were enslaved, raped and tortured for the mortal sin of being born Vhodrali." His eyes darkened. "I encountered Senovia and her father when the leisurely paced genocide of their people was nearly complete. They were holed up in an abandoned village, starving and living in squalor. Among the very last Vhodrali in existence."

Before River could come up with a clever retort, he quickly added, "Before they'd managed to escape to the abandoned village, her father Anzis was being held in a labor camp. Senovia was a sex slave." The Doctor was quite unexpectedly overcome by an inferno of resurfaced rage and he barely managed to choke the last words out. "She was only seven years old when I brought them to Sepelero."

"That's fucking_ vile._" Sebastian whispered. River was speechless, though she looked equally as horrified.

"How long ago did all this happen?" Maci questioned, looking near tears.

The Doctor busied himself with the Emergency Transceiver in an attempt to calm his anger. "She'd be nearly thirty now. Unfortunately, Senovia endured more heartache in the intervening years. Her father Anzis passed away when she was twelve, leaving her orphaned." He looked back up then, a fond smile forming. "But the Sepelero people became her family. They took care of her, protected her and she grew to be a strong and brilliant leader. They made her their queen."

"She sounds like a badass." Maci observed, looking impressed.

The Doctor chuckled. "Not the words I would have chosen, but I'm sure I agree with the sentiment." He saw the light flashing on the Transceiver and checked for a new message. "Aha!" he exclaimed.

"Did she answer?" River demanded.

He favored them all with a victorious smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have been formally invited to visit Sepelero." His smile widened. "As honored guests of the queen."

While Sebastian and Maci retreated to the living quarters to freshen up, River lingered at the console, obviously wanting a moment alone.

"I take it you already know the Vhodrali have fearsome psychic powers." River murmured. "And that that's how they remained in control over the Vhodreen for all those centuries."

The Doctor was no longer in the mood to argue. "Yes, well. That all came to an end once the _Vhodreen_ invented weaponry that thwarted their psychic powers."

"But that's why you chose Sepelero as their sanctuary, isn't it?" River pressed. "Because you didn't trust them with their powers either."

He suddenly felt very defensive. "I didn't make that decision_ for_ them. Anzis knew all about Sepelero and its psionic suppression field. He _wanted_ to go there. You make it sound as if I manipulated them."

River cocked an eyebrow. "You mean the way you're manipulating Maci?" She backed away from the console, her gaze uncompromising, then turned and left the room.

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he went to the ornamental hutch and retrieved the weathered old tome from the bottom drawer. _The Dark Times:_ _A Chronicle of Gallifrey's Forgotten History. _He sat in his favorite chair and flipped it open, right to the same brittle page, to the bit he'd read once before. He didn't know why he felt the need to reread it. The words weren't going to change.

He skimmed through the legend.

_In order to save her flock, the last Pythia, the once mighty High Priestess who reigned over all the land, foresaw only one way forward for her flock. They were to leave Gallifrey at once and settle on Karn. She would gather her remaining acolytes for one final ceremony. She already knew (but of course she knew) it would be the last night of her life._

The Doctor turned the page to the next chapter, called _The Final Ceremony_. The chapter he happened upon in the library only hours ago.

He scanned the pages until his eyes reached the words that had convinced him to take Sebastian home and to stash Maci on Sepelero. Words from a dark time he could never visit in the TARDIS. Words that should have disappeared into the abyss along with the last Pythia. Her last words to her followers.

_She stood before the pitiful group one last time as they gathered around a dying fire. _

"_Hear me now my loyal acolytes: I command you to survive. To carry on my teachings and to trust in our collective knowledge of the universe and all Her secrets. Know that our kind of power will rise again one day. This I know and this I swear."_

_The fire behind Pythia that had been sputtering out suddenly roared upward toward the starry red sky as she prophesied their second coming._

"_When time becomes undone, my rightful successor shall rise to glory. She will be carried from the flames by a son of Earth, a Protector inspired by pure devotion. She will be challenged by the false ruler, a Pretender she must overthrow. The Protector shall ensure his beloved's reign by giving his life, a promise kept. The Pretender shall fall from grace, a false friend being her downfall - a promise broken."_

"Rubbish." he whispered to the empty console room as he snapped the leatherbound book closed and tossed it to the floor.

The TARDIS hummed, almost a frightened whine.

He ignored the shiver that overtook him and stood. "They're just cryptic words in a storybook." he reassured the TARDIS, placing one hand on the console. There was that nervous hum again.

The Doctor shrugged in response. "It's all just a coincidence. The universe is full of them. Nothing is predestined."

The Doctor studied some gauges on the control panel and made some adjustments, glad the TARDIS seemed to have dropped the subject.

But he knew he hadn't fooled her- no more than he had fooled himself. He could feel his heartsbeat in his throat. His mouth was dry.

He had never thought much of prophecies, not when so many of them turned out to be lies or were worded so vaguely they could fit any number of circumstances.

This was different. Even though most Time Lords would outwardly deny it, it was known among their people that before their science came to Gallifrey, time travel was achieved by psychic prophecy rather than physical means.

And one didn't have to be a genius to interpret this prophecy.

The Doctor clenched his jaw and spoke out loud, stubbornly. "Nothing is set in stone. The end of the story can still be rewritten."


	18. Chapter 18

The haunting rasp of the TARDIS engines stopped abruptly. They had landed. Sebastian and Maci exchanged an anxious look.

The Doctor consulted the computer and rubbed his hands together, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. "Sepelero- more specifically, the only habitable continent on Sepelero- is an acclaimed tourist destination. Vacationers all over this corner of the galaxy are drawn in by the year round pleasant climate, its therapeutic natural hot springs and lavender colored beaches."

River raised an eyebrow and murmured. "I had no idea there'd be a timeshare sales pitch."

Sebastian saw the Doctor shoot her an annoyed look. "We are expected for lunch with the queen at the Temple of Rayn." he informed them, hitting a few keys on a keypad. A large screen descended from the ceiling, displaying a tranquil landscape lush with flowering plants and burbling fountains. "Looks like we've landed right in the Temple's water garden."

"The Temple of _rain_?" Maci asked, squinting at the beautiful scene displayed before them.

The Doctor shook his head and switched the scanner off. "Not _rain_ as in precipitation. _R-a-y-n _as in the name of one of Sepelero's three moons."

"It has _three_ moons?" Sebastian marveled.

"Indeed it does. There's Rayn, Leese and Moro." He straightened the collar on his coat and adjusted his sleeves. "The native people of Sepelero worship their moons as divine goddesses. They believe that it is _moon magic_ that sustains their land of paradise." He grinned as if he thought such a belief system was adorable but not to be taken seriously. "Shall we?" he offered and hit the switch to open the door.

Sebastian and Maci hung back in the TARDIS for a moment as River and the Doctor stepped out. This was all so surreal, it bordered on dreamlike. Sepelero. An alien planet. A different fucking _solar system_. Sebastian's stomach was in knots with apprehension at the prospect.

Maci looked nervous too, but her eyes shone with excitement. "Is this actually happening?" she whispered.

He wished he was brave like her. Someone who didn't give a shit about fitting in or impressing others with boring conventions. Someone who had gotten piercings and tattoos as if she'd readily accepted pain as a part of life. He wished he welcomed new experiences and that he was taking all this craziness in stride. But he wasn't like her.

He found he was frozen, unable to take a step forward or even speak. An _alien_ planet. A situation he was totally unprepared for and had zero control over. The Doctor's icy words came back to taunt him.

_Do you really think you're in any way capable of protecting her? You haven't the slightest clue what you're dealing with._

Maci tilted her head and looked up into his face. "You okay in there?" Her signature smartass smirk had been abandoned and she looked worried about him.

He shrugged, nowhere near capable of putting to words the tumult inside his head.

She chewed her lip. "You really could have gone home. If this is too much for you. I mean… I… I would understand."

_For fuck's sake, it would be too much for anybody! _he wanted to shout. But Sebastian wasn't pissed at her. He was pissed at himself for thinking that he could deal with all this. They weren't even in imminent danger and here he was, paralyzed.

"Come along children." the Doctor called in a patronizing way that made Sebastian want to kick him in the dick.

Instead he sighed. He'd come too far to backpedal now. He reached out and took hold of her hand. "Come on." he murmured. "The queen is expecting us for lunch."

They stepped out onto a stone path that wound its way down a slight decline through a copse of alien trees. Their trunks were pure white, the branches lush with yellow fern-like foliage. The feathery leaves provided abundant shade and drooped heavy to the ground in some spots like weeping willows.

The four of them emerged from the umbrella of trees into startling golden sunlight as if emerging from indoors. Sebastian's eyes were momentarily dazzled by the brightness and he had to blink until they adjusted.

The landscape widened and he could now see they were enclosed on three sides by a crumbling stone wall. Further along and straight ahead stood the temple the Doctor had told them about, which wasn't surprising. What did surprise Sebastian was that the ancient looking stone structure was embedded in the side of a hill so that it was partially underground, the entrance fronting the courtyard garden.

The temple was roughly square with no fancy turrets or towers. Sebastian has never been much interested in architecture but in his mind's eye, he had imagined a pyramid or at least a looming castle. Frankly, this was a bit of a disappointment.

The water garden, however, was not. Maci summed it up best when she breathed. "It's gorgeous." And it was.

The heart of the garden was an immense shallow pond split in half by a footbridge. Dilapidated statues (of human-looking figures, Sebastian noted with relief) stood on pedestals at the perimeter, looking out over the water. An elaborate fountain seemed to grow out of the center of each half of the pond.

He saw there were several smaller ponds on the grounds, each with a fountain in the center, surrounded by the breathtaking flora. Vegetation covered almost every surface with grasses, shrubs and multicolored flowers. Even the fountains and statues were adorned with some sort of bluish moss.

A gardener was tending to the plants at the edge of one of the tiny ponds off to their right. As they drew closer, Sebastian realized it was a girl of maybe twelve years. She was using some sort of watering device to spritz down a fuzzy looking red bush. She looked human enough. She had long blonde hair, slightly unkempt, covered with an amish looking bonnet. She was petite and wore a simple blue dress with white patterns on the sleeves and he could hear her humming to herself.

"Your grace," the Doctor called out when they reached the point on the path nearest to her. He'd stopped walking.

Sebastian didn't quite register the significance or the deference behind his words until the girl turned to greet them. Her strange, pale eyes widened with excitement and a sunny smile nearly split her face in two. "_Doctor_!"

She dropped the watering can and rushed over to envelop him in an enthusiastic hug. The Doctor chuckled and patted her on the back fondly. "Hello Senovia. It's good to see you too."

River and Maci were both visibly startled but it was Sebastian's dumbass that blurted out, "_That's _the queen?"

Maci gave him a _shut the fuck up_ look but the blonde girl turned to him and chuckled. "The Doctor mentioned he was bringing humans along. I understand that humans develop more rapidly than my people. I assure you, I am older than I appear to you."

Sebastian swallowed, feeling foolish. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

Her pale eyes were sly when she interrupted him. "No apologies necessary. _This_ time."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Senovia and the Doctor both burst out laughing. The queen patted Sebastian good naturedly on the shoulder for reassurance and he felt like slightly less of an asshole.

"Doing a little gardening I see." the Doctor observed with approval as the four of them headed across the footbridge toward the temple.

She shrugged and gestured with the watering device. "My Athyrium fern can't seem to get enough water. So I tend to her personally twice a day."

As they neared the entrance to the partially underground temple, Sebastian could see that the only ornamental feature at the front of the structure were the columns that stood on either side of the door. That and the rudimentary symbol carved _above_ the door. A half moon.

Before they reached the door, it opened and a large figure emerged. The man was crazy tall and built like a quarterback. His skin tone was darker than Senovia's and he was wearing much simpler garb. He wore what looked like a single piece of fabric fashioned into a flowing, wide-sleeved robe.

"This is Yoth." Senovia said by way of introduction. "He is my personal attendant." The mountain of a man nodded in response and stood aside to let them enter.

Before entering the strange sunken temple, Sebastian looked back once over his shoulder.

The garden was just as lovely and tranquil as it had been and the sun shone just as brightly. Now though, there seemed something faintly ruinous about the landscape. Something ominous about the timeworn fountains, cracked statues and overgrown greenery. Like ancient ruins. Or a forsaken cemetery beside some demolished church. Sebastian shivered and allowed Maci to pull him along by the hand into the Temple of Rayn.

* * *

They sat around a large wooden table in an elegant room called the Great Hall. The room had a polished stone floor, cathedral ceilings and was lit with candles and torches. It had not even occurred to Maci that this place may not have electricity. She wondered if the entire planet was lacking in modern comforts. She had to admit that along with the cool, cavernous feel of the room, the flickering torchlight gave the place an intriguing, medieval atmosphere.

Senovia's "attendant" Yoth, stood stoically at the entrance, staring straight ahead. On an alien planet in an alien solar system, Maci found the man's glower and ominous presence the most unsettling aspects of Sepelero thus far. His dark eyes were unreadable and he didn't utter a word. Conversely, the similarly dressed servants who brought them wine seemed sweet and gentle- even though they didn't seem to speak either.

The Doctor, however, was a master of small talk and he managed to keep the polite chit chat going while they awaited the arrival of lunch. He made an effort to include each of them in the conversation, as if he was single handedly responsible for putting everyone at ease. Admittedly, it did help break the ice. Even Sebastian seemed to have loosened up a bit, sipping his wine and looking pleased as they discussed the charming huts they would be staying in near the beach.

"The cottages are relatively new." Senovia said, a hint of pride in her voice. "We've found that holiday-goers get a more restful night's sleep when they can hear the sea."

The queen was seated next to Maci, to her right. For all that the tiny blonde appeared to be a child, she had the presence of someone much older and more sophisticated. It was uncanny. But it was Senovia's unearthly pale green eyes that Maci couldn't quite get over. Her looks were otherwise quite ordinary, maybe even homely by conventional standards. But that shade of green was unlike any color Maci had seen in nature. Nearly translucent, the yellowish-green irises seemed to be lit from within, growing lighter closest to the pupil.

"From the things I've heard, tourism has improved exponentially since you've taken over as leader." The Doctor observed, sounding impressed.

The fresh faced queen smiled, almost shyly. "Yes, well. Once we switched to seaside accommodations, began day trips to tour the Cave of Moro and started incorporating some of the native customs into our entertainment, things really began to take off."

The Doctor made an exasperated sound. "You say that as if all these changes weren't down to you. You had a plan of action, you implemented it and it was a huge success." He lifted his wine glass, as if toasting to her health. "Your father would be so proud."

Maci noticed an almost imperceptible change in Senovia's expression, a shift in her mood. "Father never would have imagined me as a leader. He himself had no interest in ruling. He was happy enough that we found safety here." She smiled, but her heart clearly wasn't in it. Maci felt a pang of sympathy in her chest and wondered how long ago the queen had lost her father. Maci knew what it was like to lose the only person who had always been there.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she offered gently, hating that in times like these, there weren't more useful words.

Senovia smiled and placed her hand over Maci's on the table. "Our losses make us stronger in the end."

The Doctor changed the subject. "Not sure if I'd mentioned, but Professor Song here is an archaeologist." He nodded toward River who Maci only just realized hadn't said much of anything since they'd arrived. "I imagine she might quite enjoy touring the Cave of Moro."

"What's so fascinating about caves?" River wondered, not sounding especially interested. Mostly, she looked annoyed that she was expected to participate in the social niceties.

The Doctor shot her a look but it was the queen herself who replied to the question. "The Cave of Moro was the home of the Ancient Ones. Where the primitive beings of this planet dwelled long ago."

River raised an eyebrow at the blonde girl. "Would you say these "ancient ones" were more or less _primitive_ than your servants?"

"_Professor_," the Doctor hissed in disbelief.

Senovia barely blinked. "I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

"I've just been sitting here wondering how it is that a girl from out of town- such as yourself- came to be queen here. And how you managed to convince the locals to hand over control? A neat trick, that." River drained the last of her wine, set the glass down and sat back, arms crossed.

Maci inwardly cringed and looked at Sebastian in disbelief. _What the hell was River doing?_ said the look they shared.

The Doctor sighed heavily. "Your grace, I do apologize for my friend. I think that what she-"

"I don't believe the Professor allows anyone to apologize for her." The queen's pale eyes were shrewd as she continued to gaze at River. "I'd be happy to answer her question though."

The tension in the room was broken by the arrival of the servants with lunch. As trays of food were set out and the wine glasses refilled, the Doctor skillfully steered the conversation away from River's accusatory questions. Maci was grateful when they returned to more lighthearted topics and was pleasantly surprised to find lunch was delicious. She wasn't sure what it was called on Sepelero, but it was basically just some sort of fish and a salad.

River remained silent for the remainder of the meal but made her feelings about the situation crystal clear just the same. Her body language spoke volumes and she barely ate a thing. When lunch ended, she was the first to stand. "Doctor, I have something important to discuss with you. Back on the TARDIS."

The Doctor's eyes were guarded as he stood slowly. "Professor Song, why don't we wait until the queen has-"

"_Now_ Doctor." Her tone allowed for no argument. The Doctor looked irritated and Maci wondered what the hell was going on with her.

Senovia was on her feet as well. "It's not a problem Doctor. You two take your time. I have some business to tend to in the village. Yoth here will show Sebastian and Maci to your private beach." Before anyone had time to reply, she nodded her good-bye and left quickly with two of the servants flanking her.

River eyed Yoth suspiciously where he remained standing at the door, expressionless. "Do you really think it's such a good idea to leave them alone with a stranger?"

The Doctor spoke softly with just a hint of warning in his tone. "I'm not entirely sure what you're playing at Professor but we are _guests_ here. Guests on a Level 1 planet among peaceful citizens ruled by a leader who is highly regarded throughout the galaxy."

"Something isn't right." River replied between clenched teeth, her eyes flicking to Yoth once more.

The Doctor scoffed. "You're allowing your prejudices to make you paranoid. There's no danger here. Senovia is a friend and Yoth will keep them safe." He looked at Yoth as if for confirmation of this and the silent man only nodded grimly.

The Doctor favored Sebastian and Maci with a reassuring smile. "Go on then. Have a look at our private beach and River and I will join you after our… conversation."

Maci's hunch about Sepelero's technology appeared to be correct. Yoth led them to a primitive looking carriage pulled by two creatures that were roughly the size of horses but strangely, seemed to have more in common with _badgers_. The carriage wasn't enclosed like the type of horse drawn carriages she'd seen in movies about the Victorian era. It was open and more like a small wagon with a high seat facing forward for the driver and a lower bench on which passengers sat facing the rear.

As they rode along, watching the Temple grow smaller and smaller behind them, Maci looked up at Sebastian, wondering how he was taking all of this. "I bet you're sitting there thinking you're sorry you ever met me." she said, gently bumping into his side.

Sebastian put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "Not even close." His smile turned into a smirk. "I was actually sitting here trying to picture a cowboy riding one of those giant fucking badgers."

Maci laughed. "You're always thinking such profound thoughts."

Their route took them through a wooded area, the carriage moving smoothly over the well beaten dirt path. They weren't riding for long when the coach stopped. They both turned and saw Yoth jump down from the carriage. They followed suit.

Maci could see why the carriage hadn't taken them any further. The path ended abruptly as the woods grew thicker and meandered off down the side of a gradual hill with a narrow footpath off to their right. Yoth pointed in that direction and spoke the first word Maci had heard him speak.

"Bottom." His voice was deep and sounded hoarse like maybe he didn't use it much.

Sebastian cleared his throat, glanced toward Maci then back to Yoth. "You...you mean the bottom of the _hill_?"

Yoth nodded and continued to point down the footpath. "Huts." Then he hopped back up on the carriage, turned it around and rode off, leaving them standing alone in the woods. They stood blinking after him.

"Never stops talking, that guy." Sebastian quipped.

Maci shrugged. "I guess our huts are at the bottom of the hill?"

They started down and almost immediately, the path grew steep. They had to take short steps to keep their balance. Maci slipped once and Sebastian grabbed her arm to keep her upright.

It was unnerving to know there was nobody around to show them the way if they got lost, but overall, Maci found she was relieved at Yoth's departure. His presence had been even more unnerving.

They reached a level wooden platform attached to a bridge that crossed a deep crevasse. Before long, the tree line ended and they stepped out onto the beach. The sight before them took Maci's breath away.

"Holy shit." Sebastian whispered.

Just as the Doctor had stated, the sand stretched out before them, sparkling in the sun, a stunning silvery purple. The ocean itself looked normal enough; white foam on blue crashing into the lavender shore.

The beach was small and secluded, shielded on each side by cliffs that jutted out into the surf. Just off to their left stood three small cottages that looked rustic in an appealing, understated way. It was a picture right out of a magazine advertisement for a luxury resort. She felt excitement bubbling up inside her, along with a strange sense of freedom.

"Three huts." Sebastian murmured. "I guess somebody's sharing."

But Maci was already on her way out to the water's edge. The salt air was calling her name. She kicked her shoes off along the way and thrilled at the shock of the cold water when it hit her feet. She could hear Sebastian behind her.

"Uh, Mace. We're on an alien planet. We might not want to touch the water..."

She turned around, beaming at him. "It feels amazing." She walked backwards letting the surf crash into her lower legs.

Sebastian had kicked his shoes off but was still standing out of reach of the tide. "I mean, I guess the Doctor would have mentioned if it was loaded with space sharks…"

He was nervous, Maci realized. She found it hilarious but also quite endearing. She held her hands out to him. "Come on. I'll keep you safe."

Her teasing propelled him forward though the reluctance was still written all over his face. She took a couple more steps back, giggling, forcing him to follow her a little further.

When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her still, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "I'm counting on you to keep me safe," he said softly.

Maci looked up into his beautiful blue eyes and felt so lucky to have him here with her. She wanted to tell him so but didn't have the words. So instead she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her in tightly against him and she felt her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest.

_Damn_. He was as good a kisser as she remembered.

They stood like that, pressed against each other, the tide crashing around them on a tiny purple beach on a strange planet called Sepelero in a faraway solar system called Vumiehr.


	19. Chapter 19

**Salyavin Point Detention Station, Outer Wastelands, Gallifrey**

The next time Romana awakened, it was to total blackness. She sat up, panicky and confused. She actually had to touch her fingertips to her eyelids to make certain they were open. It took her another moment to realize what had roused her from her sleep in the first place. An alarm, blaring off in the distance. She coughed and tasted smoke and began to understand what the blackness was about. Her cell was full of smoke!

_Was the prison on fire_?

Instinctively, Romana rolled off her cot onto the floor and lay flat on her stomach, seeking oxygen below the smoke. Her hearts thundered in her chest as she assessed her situation. She crawled along the floor, feeling her way around. Nothing was hot to the touch, so the smoke wasn't from a fire within her cell. It must have entered through the ventilation system and become trapped.

There was no way out of this cell unless somebody opened it from the outside. Salyavin Point was constructed from the sturdiest materials in the universe. Not even a TARDIS could breach its security. The cells were self contained and totally indestructible. Which meant at least that it was unlikely she would burn to death.

"I'll just die of smoke inhalation then." she murmured dryly

Now, along with the blaring alarm, she could hear voices. There were no discernable words but she thought it sounded like men shouting. Men _fighting_. Then, staser fire.

Romana coughed and tried not to panic. From the sound of things, there was more going on here than a structure fire started from some innocuous electrical fault. It was starting to sound like a full blown riot out there. But a riot to what end?

Comprehension dawned mere seconds before she heard the click of her cell door being unlocked.

_The radicals. The uprising._

The door to her cell swung open and the inrush of air from the corridor circulated through and thinned the smoke just enough for Romana to see who had entered.

"Wrayvius?" she coughed and started to climb to her feet. He moved to help her but she shook him off, standing on her own. "What the _hell_ have you done?" she shouted, and shoved him away from her, hard.

"There isn't time for arguments." he reasoned. "In ten minutes, the Chancellery Guard's Tactical Unit will have this facility surrounded. This place is about to become a warzone. And I promise you, Chancellor Samaria will be only too happy if you are killed in the crossfire."

"Are you _mad_?" Romana hissed. "People will die because of you!"

This time when he reached for her, he grabbed her by the upper arm in a viselike grip she was unable to shake off. "You can reprimand me later. For now, we need to get you away from here." He pulled her along with him, down the smoke-filled corridor. Behind them, she could hear more staser fire and someone screaming for help.

She glanced up at him as they made their way. She wished he wasn't so damned good looking. Even sweaty and beaten and bruised, Wrayvius was absurdly attractive

"I suppose this is the handiwork of your fanatic friends." Romana struggled futilely against him as he dragged her along. "Come to break you out?"

"Come to break _us_ out." he corrected. A radio at his hip emitted a burst of static, followed by a breathless voice. "_Branimir to the Cardinal_."

"Go ahead Branimir… what's our status?" Wrayvius replied as they came to the end of the corridor and stepped out of the cell block, into a stairwell. When they turned to climb the stairs, they had to step over the crumpled form of a dead guard. Romana gasped as she recognized him. It was Keeris. The despicable guard who had arrested her.

"_The facility is secure_," the voice on the other end of the radio assured. "_All guards have been accounted for_."

As they started up the stairs, Romana realized that in addition to the smoke, the smell of death hung heavy on the air. They'd killed all the guards- that's what Branimir meant. Killed them and ensured they wouldn't regenerate. They'd murdered sixty men and women who were only doing their jobs. Keeris had been a vile man with a terrible attitude but he hadn't deserved to _die_.

"_What's your current position, Cardinal_?" Branimir inquired on the radio.

Wrayvius took the stairs two at a time, forcing her to match his pace. "Approaching sector six. How much time left?"

"_A little under six minutes_."

At the top of the stairs, they swung right, then stopped in front of a locked door. Wrayvius used a security access card to gain entry and they stepped into the darkened dining hall. It appeared to be one section of the prison untouched by the raid. When the door closed behind them, the unnerving smells and sounds grew distant and hushed. He switched on the lights and scanned the room.

Romana noticed for the first time that he was armed with a staser himself. She watched with growing despondency as he drew it from the holster at his hip and gripped it expertly. He swept the dining hall and adjacent kitchen. He radioed to Branimir that the area was clear and pulled her into the kitchen.

She didn't even resist him anymore as they made their way through the kitchen to an exit at the back near the dishwashing unit. Up until now she'd been angry- furious even. She'd felt betrayed and shocked and disappointed. But it was the sight of the man she'd loved holding that gun that completely broke her hearts. The Wrayvius _she_ had known had hated guns. He had told her all about how his father had expected him to join the military but that his distaste for weapons and fighting had pushed him toward academia. He really wasn't who she thought he was at all.

He reholstered the staser and reported back to Branimir. "We're at the door. Do it now."

He looked down at Romana and explained, "We found a way to interrupt the prison's transduction barrier for up to thirty seconds at a time. Just long enough for a TARDIS to materialize and take us away." Wrayvius spoke as if trying to reassure her. As if she were _afraid _they wouldn't escape.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're nothing but a liar and a traitor."

He made a sound of exasperation, as if he thought this had already been settled. "We need to leave." he told her sharply. "It isn't safe here."

"_Cardinal, we're almost ready_." Branimir's staticky voice broke in. "_Standby_."

He let go of her arm and she took a few steps back from him. "And I'm to believe _you're_ going to keep me _safe_?" she spat. "You have ruined my life as well as my reputation. You destroyed my presidency and made it possible for a simple-minded, power hungry parasite like Samaria to supplant me."

"Samaria knows you're not really involved in the Pythia plot." Wrayvius sighed. "She's been waiting for any excuse to make her move."

"Exactly! And you provided her with the perfect ammunition." She fought to keep her voice from quavering, to keep her eyes from overflowing.

"Had I known our relationship would end up implicating you…"

"You what? Wouldn't have become involved?" she chuckled humorlessly. "You got what you wanted. Chaos at the capital. The _perfect_ opportunity for a coup."

For the first time, he looked genuinely wounded. "Romana… you can't really think that I became involved with you just to gain control?"

"_Ten seconds Cardinal_."

"Does it even matter what I think, Wrayvius? We played a game and I lost. Whichever way you care to dress it up, the end result is the same."

"Romana I love you." His dark eyes were so intense she had to look away. He wasn't lying now and she knew that. Somehow the fact that he loved her made all this even worse.

"And look what you've done to the woman you love." she whispered, a tear finally breaking free and running down her face.

She only had a moment to register the look of despair on his face before Branimir announced. "_We're materializing now. Come on_!"

He unlocked the door and pulled it open, then looked back at her. "Hate me if you must but if you don't leave with me now, you will die here." there was desperation in his voice and his hand trembled as he held it out to her.

"I guess I'll take my chances. Better to die on my own terms than have anyone believe I would ever go anywhere with a traitor like you." She crossed her arms defiantly.

The area just outside the kitchen exit was poorly lit but Romana could still see that the radicals' TARDIS was beginning to materialize.

Wrayvius made a sound of frustration and grabbed her underneath the arms. "If I have to throw you onto this TARDIS, I will!"

She gripped a sturdy shelving unit that was anchored to the wall and resisted as he pulled and yanked at her. Behind them, she heard the TARDIS fully materialize and the door creak open.

"Let's go!" a man shouted. "The advance team has already arrived!" Even as he spoke, the unmistakable sound of a Chancellery Guard airborne unit roared overhead. Wrayvius cursed and let go of her.

"You'd better listen." Romana warned him "Sounds like the advance team has already engaged with your fanatics." Heavy artillery and staser fire could be heard from the other side of the prison.

His jaw hardened and he pulled his weapon. It almost didn't even surprise her when he aimed the staser right at her. Almost. "You _will_ come with us!" He shouted.

The sounds of weapons firing outside were being drowned out by another noise, growing louder and louder. Romana was so intently focused on the gun in his hand, it didn't fully register that a second TARDIS had materialized.

"Cardinal, we have no time for this. We must go now." The rebel in the doorway-Branimir presumably- yelled.

Romana faced Wrayvius, unblinking. Her former lover who was now threatening to shoot her. "Looks like your timing's a bit off Cardinal." Romana observed. "Not a great look for a Time Lord."

"I'm _ordering_ you to get in this TARDIS." His eyes were hard but there was no mistaking the tremble of his lower lip. He'd never shoot her. She knew.

"Cardinal I'm boarding now. We will go without you!" Romana heard the sound of the TARDIS door open and close.

"Go." she commanded.

"I _cannot leave _you here!" Wrayvius bellowed, his eyes reddened and wet. He sniffed and lowered the gun.

"Fortunately, you won't have to." The voice that came from behind him was far too cheerful for their current situation. They both turned in that direction.

"Who the hell are you!" Wravvius demanded, pointing his staser.

"Doctor!?" Romana couldn't believe it. Not just because he'd arrived just in time to save her, but because of which Doctor it was.

"Forgive the intrusion," the blonde man said cordially, settling his hat on his head. "Though to be fair, your radicals friends here did intrude first." He grinned at Romana and she couldn't help but return the smile. Impossibly, it was his Fifth incarnation. He never failed to surprise her.

"You called him?" Wrayvius asked her in disbelief, gun still pointed at the Doctor.

"She didn't have to call me." the Doctor's eyes hardened as he walked over and snatched the staser as if he were taking a toy from a child. He powered it down and threw it across the room. "Because unlike you, I will always look out for her."

He moved in closer to Wrayvius who took a step back. The Doctor's voice was calm but burning with barely contained fury. "Under other circumstances, I'd hand you to the Chancellery Guard myself. But I have far greater concerns at the moment. I strongly suggest you catch up to your friends. Madame President has a ride home already."

Wrayvius paused for only a moment longer before looking her in the eye one last time, then walking away. Romana could only stand there, frozen, watching him escape. She didn't even bother to wipe the tears away as the rebel TARDIS dematerialized.

The blonde Doctor had come to stand beside her. He placed an affectionate hand on her back and spoke softly. "Brave heart Romana."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Hello loyal readers! I've switched to a mature rating starting with this chapter. In which River learns something new about the Eighth Doctor. (Seriously though. This is fairly smutty. If that's not your thing, skip to the second half of the chapter.)**

The TARDIS door wasn't even closed when he started in on her. "What in the name of Rassilon were you thinking? Are you _trying_ to destroy the good will between Senovia and myself?"

River waved a hand at him dismissively. "Don't be so melodramatic. I simply asked the girl how she came to be this planet's queen. A question that any legitimate leader should have no trouble answering. A question _you_ might have asked under other circumstances."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't you think that's rather disingenuous of you? That was no innocent question. Everyone in that room understood what you were suggesting."

"Oh did they?" she chuckled and settled herself in an upholstered chair. "How very perceptive of them. So why don't you tell me. What was I _suggesting_?"

"You were insinuating that she came to rule by duplicitous means. That she's somehow taken advantage of the Sepelevi. You all but spelled out that you don't trust her."

River shrugged. "I _don't_ trust her."

The Doctor scoffed. "Are you always this suspicious when meeting people that are different from yourself? Or do you just specifically hate the Vhodrali? Don't you think you could give Senovia a chance before you jump to paranoid conclusions?"

River clenched her jaw, determined not to let him bait her. "I'm not being paranoid. I'm being _skeptical_. Something I had to learn at an early age to survive."

"It's a shame you never learned to play nicely with others." he muttered, walking to the console. "That particular lesson would be much more helpful in our current circumstances." He started fidgeting with some switches.

River sighed heavily and joined him at the controls. "Doctor what are you doing? Seaside accommodations? Cave tours? You're avoiding the problem we are meant to be solving."

And there it was: his inscrutable face. He was definitely hiding something. "I'm not avoiding anything." he said derisively. "I'm just being cautious."

She watched as he fiddled with a lever, pressed a couple buttons and peered at a computer screen intently. River knew enough about the TARDIS controls to know he wasn't really doing anything useful. Just trying to look busy. Definitely hiding something. "What about Romana? Have you even bothered checking on your friend?"

He looked up from the controls, anger flashing in his eyes now. "What do you know about my friend? About Gallifrey? About _any_ of this?"

River returned his penetrating gaze. "I know that she's one of your oldest friends and just about the only other Time Lord alive you trust. I know that you have no interest in the petty scheming of the high council but you do care about what happens to the people that live on Gallifrey." She paused. "And I know you're hiding something from me."

The Doctor's face was etched in stone. "I'd hate to break it to you Professor, but you don't know everything about me. And I don't have to explain myself to you if I choose to keep a secret." His voice had gone so cold she felt the urge to check herself for frostbite. "You're a stranger to me and I owe you absolutely nothing. Though I'd be more than happy to drop you somewhere if you don't like the way I choose to handle things."

His vicious words were a kick to the ribs and she was surprised at the venom behind them. Her eyes narrowed. That was just fine. She could be plenty vicious too.

"No, I don't know everything about you. But one thing I do know: you're not always right Doctor. And sometimes you're so stubbornly sure of yourself that you become blinded to other possibilities. I happen to think you are being incredibly careless bringing Maci here. You don't _know_ this girl queen or where her loyalties lie, even if you _think_ you do."

A muscle in his face twitched. "That _girl queen _happens to be an adult who has been through some horrible trauma in her life. You're so prejudiced against her kind that you can't accept the possibility that someone like her, an orphan with an appalling past, can be a compassionate ruler? That she may even deserve to be?"

River actually laughed in disbelief. "Your lack of self awareness only further proves my point. Do you not believe that Maci, an orphan with an appalling past could be a compassionate ruler? That she might _deserve_ to be the Last Pythia? Anyway, who the hell are you to decide for her? If you take away her choice in the matter, you're no better than the zealots that murdered her parents and stashed her on earth to further their own agenda."

His eyes went from icy to burning in the space of seconds and he began shouting. "I didn't ask to be brought into any of this. But now here I am, faced with impossible options. And I never asked you to come along and I certainly never asked for your advice. Your second guessing me and provoking a friend who has agreed to help us is not nearly as helpful as you seem to think."

His fiery anger was even more impressive than his arctic apathy. And it stirred something in her- in addition to irritating the hell out of her. Two could play the shouting game. "Oh woe is you! The reluctant hero who didn't ask for any of this." She scoffed. "You go chasing after danger. It doesn't just find you by accident. Nobody else will, so I'll go ahead and say it. Nearly every bit of trouble you've ever encountered, you've deserved."

He was so angry that he came around the controls and pointed right in her face. "And tell me exactly what I ever did to deserve encountering _you_? Because you are without a doubt, the worst kind of trouble there is!"

River found that his proximity to her had her pulse racing. There was something so incredibly _intense_ about him when he got angry. She realized she was getting turned on and she chuckled, remembering a time when another argument with another Doctor ended with things getting physical.

He was still standing right up close, now with a look of confusion on his face. "What's funny?" he asked quietly.

A slow grin spread across her face and she stepped even closer. "I was just thinking, you have no idea how much trouble I really am." She gazed into his eyes as she reached out to touch his face, curious of his reaction. For a second, it looked like he might flinch away, but instead he stayed still, his brow furrowed as though he were studying her.

Her hand slid gently across his cheek and she caressed the side of his face. She traced the outline of his jaw with a light touch. Then she traced his beautiful full lips, her fingertips stroking them delicately. He shivered and she wondered how difficult it would be to seduce this version of him. He was certainly more flirtatious than all the others but also more detached in his alien way.

"What a peculiar way to end an argument," he murmured, still sounding spiteful even though she was sure she read desire in his eyes.

She dropped her hand and stepped back, feeling annoyed all over again. "You really just don't know when to shut up!"

He was still studying her. "You're one of those women who always has to get in the last word, aren't you?"

She felt fresh anger blossom inside her. "Yes well maybe I am!" she snapped at him.

A small smile appeared on the Doctor's face at last. "Well that's just too bad," he remarked before grabbing her unexpectedly and pressing his mouth against hers.

Unlike first encounters with previous Doctors, there was nothing nervous or uncertain about his kiss or his embrace as he pulled her in close to press her face more firmly against his. He knew exactly what he was doing with his lips and his tongue, kissing her hungrily as though he'd been waiting to do so since they'd first met.

His unrestrained passion and willingness to initiate things caught her off guard. She always rather delighted in throwing him off with her overtures. She was certainly into it, but it also made her wonder what he may have gotten up to with other women.

He broke the kiss off after a few moments. "Come here." he whispered, taking her hand and dragging her over to one of the jumpseats. She had no idea what he had in mind until he sat down and pulled her onto his lap so that she straddled him. He grabbed her face in both hands and began to snog her again.

When his hands began to move down her body expertly, she wondered if all this time, his Eighth incarnation was a total sex maniac and _her_ Doctor had never bothered telling her. A shame she was only finding out now. Every place he touched on her tingled. When his hands reached her hips, he gripped them firmly and pressed his rock solid erection against her. She moaned helplessly and began to grind against him, seeking more friction, a more purposeful touch.

He must have sensed this because he pulled away from their kiss once more. "Do you want me to touch you?" he asked, his voice so low it was closer to a growl.

"Oh yes." she breathed.

He studied her wordlessly for a moment, then reached up and touched his fingertips to her lips as she had done to him. "You should say it then," he suggested, taking his time slowly tracing her mouth with a feather light touch. "Tell me what you want me to do." She closed her eyes and moaned as heat spread through her lower abdomen and she felt a tingling even lower.

She pressed herself against him once more, thinking she was doing an excellent job at making her needs known, loud and clear without words.

He wasn't letting her off the hook though. "Go on, say it," he encouraged.

She was growing frustrated with his teasing. "Why do you need me to _say it_?" she asked with an irritated laugh.

He leaned forward and this time rubbed his lips softly against hers, just barely touching her. Just the ghost of a kiss. Now it was her turn to shiver. He was torturing her but in the most exquisite way. She wanted to stand up, tear off his clothes and have her way with him on her terms. But she just couldn't. She was caught in his thrall and she found herself clinging to him like a life raft.

He pulled back a little and looked her right in the eye. "Tell me you want me to touch you." he insisted, his voice soft and intense as he pressed her down against him again.

Part of her wanted to slap the arrogant half smile off his face. Another part of her wanted badly to give in. To hand over all the power and be thoroughly dominated.

He kissed the side of her face and made his way down her jaw. When he began placing hot, open mouthed kisses on her sensitive throat, she reached her breaking point. She couldn't hold back anymore.

"Doctor please." she pleaded. "I want you to touch me." She no longer cared how desperate she sounded. She felt ready to explode.

He didn't look surprised that she'd given in. "Take off your trousers." he instructed.

She stood immediately to oblige him, unbuttoning and unzipping and kicking them to the floor of the Console Room. But when she went to pull down the lacy red knickers, he stopped her with a terse, "I like them." and yanked her back down onto his lap.

He began to kiss her once more, as he ran the fingertips of his right hand up her bare thigh until they reached her red panties. Then he started caressing her through the sheer lace. She was already so turned on that even this much contact made her shudder with ecstasy. When he slid his hand inside her panties and began to stroke her bare flesh, she gasped against his mouth and opened her legs to him even wider.

His touch became more deliberate and already she could feel the tension building, the heat beginning in her gut and spreading outward. "Oh my _god_!" she moaned when he penetrated her with two fingers. She stopped kissing him because it required a measure of focus she didn't currently possess. She was now gripping him by the shoulders, squeezing quite hard really as her climax grew imminent.

She could see on his face the satisfaction he was getting from this. He was sweating slightly and sounded out of breath when he spoke. "That's right," he encouraged. "Come for me."

When he took her hand and placed it on the bulge in his trousers, she was through. As the orgasm hit her like a freight train, she threw back her head and cried out.

When her legs stopped trembling and she regained her reasoning skills, she was annoyed at the smug look on his face. "You seem quite pleased with yourself." she observed, climbing off of him and locating her discarded trousers. He didn't make a move to stop her so she assumed the Doctor was done playing doctor for now.

He reclined a bit in the jump seat and grinned up at her, his boyish charm on full display. "You know, I think I've changed my mind." he announced.

She raised an eyebrow as she zipped up her trousers. "About what?"

His eyes sparkled. "That's a _brilliant_ way to end an argument."

* * *

He waited until she'd disappeared down the corridor for a change of clothes to call Romana. What had happened between them aside, River was a very exasperating woman. And he wasn't in a hurry to let her know she'd been right about one thing: he'd waited much too long to check in with the President of Gallifrey. Who knew what sort of danger Romana could be in with all the political maneuvering and now this Pythia conspiracy?

His brow furrowed when his call went directly to her voice interface recording again. She still wasn't answering her mobile phone and it was his fourth try.

There was one other thing he could try. He could put an untraceable call directly through to the Capitol if he routed it through the emergency transceiver. With any luck, he'd get through to Romana's personal assistant Ludwyn. She was a quiet girl who the Doctor found to be fiercely loyal to her boss as well as quite clever.

He finished linking the transceiver to the spatial dampeners and entered the comm code for sector 2 of the Citadel. After flicking a series of switches, a mechanical burbling sound echoed through the console room as the call was placed.

"Citadel, President's Office." _Bingo._

"Yes. Is this Ludwyn?"

A confused pause. "It is. Who's speaking?"

He chuckled. "Ludwyn this is the Doctor! Is Romana around?"

The next pause was longer than the first. And heavier somehow. He frowned. "Ludwyn?"

Ludwyn's voice sounded hushed and strange when she spoke again. "Doctor. Haven't you heard what's happened?"

He felt his hearts drop. If Romana was hurt, he would never forgive himself. "What's going on?" he demanded.

She sighed. "I'm not sure what to believe. They're saying she's involved in some plot to bring in another leader. She was meant to have her impeachment hearing this morning but after the attack on Salyavin Point last night-"

"Salyavin Point? The _detention station_!?" The Doctor sputtered in disbelief. "Are you telling me Romana was taken into chancellery guard custody?" It was that moment that he noticed River had returned to the control room. As stunned as she looked at these revelations, it was nothing compared to how the Doctor felt.

"It all happened so fast." Ludwyn rushed on nervously as if she was afraid she'd be blamed. "One moment they were arresting Cardinal Wrayvius on charges of treason. The next, they had Madame President in custody and it wasn't until the following day-"

"Yes yes." the Doctor interrupted impatiently. "What did you say about an attack at Salyavin Point?"

"It was the rebels Doctor. They raided the prison." She paused. "Chancellor Samaria says that President Romana and Cardinal Wrayvius escaped together…only..."

The Doctor and River exchanged a look. "Only what Ludwyn?"

Ludwyn's voice dropped lower. "There are some on the High Council who have doubts about the President's guilt. And it's rumored that Madame President may have been taken from Salyavin Point against her will."

River's facial expression mirrored his own. Jaw clenched, eyes ablaze with fury. "Thank you for the information Ludwyn," the Doctor managed softly. "And thank you for looking out for Romana."

"Doctor… there's just one more thing."

He closed his eyes and rubbed at his right temple, thinking he wasn't sure if he could handle much more. "Go ahead."

"There's another rumor… and it could be important. They say that the President may have been involved-romantically- with Cardinal Wrayvius."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed and the only thing he could think about were the words he'd read in that ancient book.

_She will be challenged by the false ruler, a Pretender she must overthrow… The Pretender shall fall from grace, a false friend being her downfall - a promise broken._

Hadn't Romana told him there was said to be a traitor in her inner circle? A traitor who sided with an opposing faction. Apparently Romana had gotten a little too close to the wrong Time Lord.

He hung up the call bursting with guilt and concern. "I have to find her. I need to get to Gallifrey- _now_."

He was already walking around the console, making adjustments, setting the coordinates.

"Doctor, we can't just rush off without gathering more intel." River insisted. "You've no idea where she is."

The Doctor looked up from the navigational display. "_We_ aren't going anywhere. _You_ are going to stay put on Sepelero and keep watch over Maci."

She visibly bristled. "The hell I will!"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright Professor, look. You were right. I have been avoiding dealing with the problem. And because of my procrastination, something terrible has happened to Romana." He met her eyes, all bravado and bluster gone now from his voice. "_Please_. I need you to do this for me."

He watched as warring emotions played out across her face. Her nostrils flared and then she took a deep breath. "I'll stay and look out for Maci." she agreed quietly.

The Doctor nodded, relieved and grateful. He focused back on the controls. "I'll just drop you at the beach and be on my way." He pulled the dematerialization lever.

Nothing happened.

He blinked. They hadn't lost power. Navigation system was still online. Fluid links functioning normally.

He groaned. "Not now!" He punched a few commands into the computer and tried the lever again. Nothing.

River approached the controls, brow furrowed. "Could this have anything to do with our little underwater excursion back on Karn?"

He scratched his head in frustration. "That's impossible. The macromat field generators recovered fully from the positive gauge pressure."

She frowned and placed her hand on the console. "What's he done to you this time?" she murmured affectionately.

River Song's presumed familiarity with _his_ space/time capsule managed to dissolve any gratitude he'd been feeling toward her moments ago. "It would be a big help if you'd give me room to figure this out." he snapped, knowing he was being petty but unable to help himself.

Instead of the predictable anger, she looked up at him with something akin to horror. "Doctor, I can't hear her."

"What are you talking about?"

"The TARDIS," she whispered. "I can usually hear her, _feel_ her inside my mind. Now there's nothing."

"Don't be ridiculous." The Doctor scowled and leaned over the console, placing his hand against the time rotor. He closed his eyes and opened his mind.

_What's wrong old girl? Speak to me._

The silence in his mind felt like he was being submerged in ice water.

"Doctor?" River asked, sounding nearly as alarmed as he felt. "What's happened to the TARDIS."

The Doctor slowly removed his hand from the time rotor and stood up straight. "I'm not entirely sure." he admitted. "One thing's for certain: our telepathic link has somehow been severed."


End file.
